Twentieth century impressions of British Malaya: its history, people, commerce, industries, and resources;

CORNELL

UNIVERSITY

LIBRARY

THE

CHARLES WILLIAM WASON

COLLECTION ON CHINA

AND THE CHINESE

Cornell University Library
DS 592.W94

Twentieth century impressions of British

3 1924 023 134 368 .*.,..

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TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS

OF

BRITISH MALAYA

A MAP OF THE

MALAY PENINSULA

Scale of Statute Miles'
10 2C 30 40 y> cp

Moj/ways Open.

f^ai/woiJb undet Construction

TiiT

1^2° I

l(i3°j

i^tomtktlj Cmtur^ Impr^gsinns

0f

ritiab JEala^a

ITS HISTORY, PEOPLE, COMMERCE,
INDUSTRIES, AND RESOURCES

Editor in Chief: ARNOLD WRIGHT (London).
ASSISTANT Editor: H. A. CARTWRIGHT (Singapore).

LONDON, DURBAN, COLOMBO, PERTH (W.A.), SINGAPORE, HONGKONG, AND

SHANGHAI :

LLOYD'S GREATER BRITAIN PUBLISHING COMPANY, LTD.,

1908.

Lo

\f\i -U>L:l7o

HIS EXCELLENCY SIR JOHN ANDERSON, K.C.M.G., GOVERNOR AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF

THE STRA.ITS SETTLEMENTS, HIGH C3M.VII3SIONER FOR THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES,

AND CONSUL-GENERAL FOR BRITISH NORTH BORNEO, BRUNEI, AND SARAWAK.

MISS ANDERSON.

PREFACE

HIS work is ihc outcome of an enterprise licsignal to liivc in an altrachve Jonii full
and reliable information willi reference to the outlying parts of the Empire. The
value of a fuller knowledge of the '■ Britains beyond ttic Sea" and ttie great depen-
dencies of the Croivn as a means of tiglitening the bonds which unite the component
parts of the King's dominions was insisted upon by Mr. Chamberlain in a memorable
speech, and the same note ran through the Prince of Wales's impressive Mansion
House address in which His Royal Highness summed up the lessons of his lour through
the Empire, from ivhicli he had Hum fust returned. In some instances, notably in
the case of Canada, the local Governments have done much to difluse in a popular form infoi niation relative
to the territory which they administer. But there are other centres in wliich olficial enteifrise in this direction
has not been possible, or, at all events, in wliich action has not been taken, and it is in this prolilic Held lliat
the publishers are working. So far tliev have found ample fustijication for tlicir labours in the widespread
public interest taken in their operations in the colonies which have been the scene of Hair ivork, and in the
extremely cordial reception given by the Press, both home and colonial, to ttie completed results.

Briefly, the aim which the publishers keep steadily before Hi em is to give a perfect microcosm of the colony
or dependency treated. As old Stow with patient application and scrupulous regard tor accuracy set himself to
survey the London of his day, so the workers employed in tlie production of this scries endeavour to give a picture,
complete in every particular, of Hie distant possessions of the Croivn. Bui topography is only one of ttie features
treated. Responding to modern needs and tastes, the literary investigators devote their attention to every important
phase of life, bringing to the elucidation of the subjects treated the powerful aid of the latest and best metliods
of pictorial illustration. Thus a work is compiled which is not only of solid iind enduring value for purposes of
reference and for practical business objects, but is of unique interest to all who arc interested in Hie developnient
of the Empire.

Following closely upon Hie lines of Hie earlier works of Hie series on JVcslerii Australia, Xatat. and Ceylon,
this volume deals e.yhaustively willi the liistory. administration, peoples, commerce, industries, and potentialities
of the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States — territories ichich. though but comparatively little known
hitherto, promise to become of very great commercial importance in the near future. By reason of their

PREFACE

scattered nature, wide extent, undeveloped condition, and different systems of government, the adequate
treatment of them has presented no little difficulty to the compilers. But neither trouble nor expense has been
spared in the attempt to secure full and accurate information in every direction, and, wherever possible, the
services of recognised experts have been enlisted. The general historical matter has been written after an
exhaustive study of the original records at the India Office, and it embodies information which throws a new
light upon some aspects of the early life of the Straits Settlements. For the facilities rendered in the prosecution
of his researches and also for the sanction freely given to him to reproduce many original sketches and scarce
prints in the splendid collection at the India Office Library, Whitehall, the Editor has to offer his thanks to ike
India Council. In the Straits much valued assistance has been rendered by the heads of the various
Government Departments, and the Editor is especially indebted to his Excellency Sir John Anderson, K.C.M.G.,
the Governor of the Straits Settlements and High Commissioner for the Federated Malay States, who has
given every possible encouragement to the enterprise.

Obviously a work of this magnitude cannot be produced except at very considerable cost. As the publishers
do not ask for any Government subsidy, because of the restrictions which it might impose upon them, this cost
has to be met in part by receipts from the sale of copies and in part by revenue from the insertion of
commercial photographs. The publishers venture to think that this fact furnishes no ground for adverse
criticism. The principle is that adopted by the highest class of newspapers and magazines all over the world.
Moreover, it is claimed that these photographs add to, rather than detract from, the value of the book.
They serve to show the manifold interests of the country, and, with the accompanying descriptive letterpress,
which is independently written by members of the staff from personal observation, they constitute a picturesque
and useful feature thai is not without interest to the general reader and student of economics, while it is of
undoubted value to business men throughout the British Empire.

November, 1907.

CONTENTS

The Straits Settlements. By Arnold Wright —

Early History ■ • ......

Singapore .... .... . .

PiNANG (including PROVINCE WELLESLEY AND THE DiNDINGs)

Malacca . ..... .... . .

The Federated Malay States. By Arnold Wright (with chapters on the early history

of the Malays and the Portuguese and Dutch Periods by R. J. Wilkinson, Secretary

to the Resident of Perak) ........ ....

Christmas Island, the Cocos-Keeling Islands, and Labuan . ...

The Present Day .... ... . .

List of Governors and High Commissioners

Constitution and Law

State Finance . . ....

Opium . ...

Gambling and Spirits . . . .

Exports, Imports, and Shipping. By A. Stuart, Registrar of Imports and Exports,

Straits Settlements . . ....

Harbours and Lighthouses . . .....

Social Life .... . .

The Population of Malaya. By Mrs. Reginald Sanderson

The Malays of British Malay'a. By B. O. Stoney, Hon. Sec. of the Malay Settlement,

Kuala Lunipor . . . ■ ...

Malay Literature. By R. J. Wilkinson ... . .

Native Arts and Handicrafts. By L. Wray, I.S.O., M.I.E.E., F.Z.S., M.R.P.S., etc.,

Director of Museums, Federated Malay States .
Health and Hospitals .

Press. By W. Makepeace . . . .

Education. By J. B. Elcum, B.A. Oxon., Director of Public Instruction, Straits Settlements

and Federated Malay States
Religion .... ... . . .

Police. By Captain W. A. Cuscaden, Inspector-General of Police, Straits Settlements, and

Captain H. L. Tal,bot, Commissioner of Police, Federated Malay States
Prisons . . ...

Railways . . . . .

/ Public Works .

Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones ....

Forests of Malaya. By A. M. Burn-Murdoch, Conservator of Forests, Federated Malay

States and Straits Settlements ...

13
20

49
65

74
"5
117
120
121

137
152
161

162

182

195
213

222
229

232
346
353

267
281

394
301
303

314 ^
326

330

12

CONTENTS

Botany. By H. N. Ridley, M.A., F.R.S., F.L.S., F.R.H.S., etc., Director of the Botanical
Gardens^ Singapore . . ....

Agriculture. By R. Derry', Assistant Superintendent, Botanical Gardens, Singapore .

Rubber. By J. B. Carruthers, F.R.S.E., F.L.S., Director of Agriculture and Government
Botanist, Federated Malay States . . .... ...

Coconut Cultivation. By L. C. Brown, Inspector of Coconut Plantations, Federated Malay
States

The Pineapple Industry

Mining

Fisheries .

Meteorology ....

Geology. By J. B. Scrivenor, Government Geologist, Federated Malay States

Sport. By Theodore R. Hubback

Military .

The Straits Settle.ments —
Singapore

PiXAXG

Malacca
The Federated Malay States —
Kuala Lumpor
Perak
Selangor
Negri Sambilan
Pahang

JoHOKE

Social and Professional

Indfstrial .

Commercial ...

Fauna. By H. C. Robinson, Curator, Selangor Museum
Information for Tourists
Concluding Note
Index .

332
339

345

503
504
505
554
556
558
559
587

599 .r

728^
837

845
858
878
881
886
890
892
907
912
927
937
953
955

iritislj ^ala^a:

ITS HISTORY, PEOPLE, COMMERCE, INDUSTRIES, AND RESOURCES

?? Q -^

THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS

By ARNOLD WRIGHT

bi 9 d^

liW of the oversea pos-
sessions of the Crown,
outside India and the
great self - governing
colonies, can compare in
interest and importance
with the Straits Settle-
ments. They are situ-
ated in a region which
Nature has marked out as one of the great
strategic centres of the world alilce for pur-
poses of war and of commerce. "Within its
narrowest limits," wrote the gifted statesman '
to whom Britain owes the possession to-day of
the most important unit of this magnificent
group of colonies, " it embraces the whole of
the vast Archipelago which, stretching from
Sumatra and Java to the Islands of the Pacific
and thence to the shores of China and Japan,
has in all ages excited the attention and
attracted the cupidity of more civilised nations;
an area whose valuable and peculiar produc-
tions contributed to swell the extravagance of
Roman luxury, and one which in more modern
times has raised the power and consequence

' Sir T. Stamford Raffles, " Memoir on the Adminis-
tration of the Eastern Islands," in Lady Raffles's
" Memoir of SirT. Stamford RafHes," Appendix L, 25.

EARLY HISTORY

of every successive European nation into whose
hands its commerce has fallen ; and which,
further, perhaps in its earliest period among
the Italian States, communicated the first
electric spark which awoke to life the energies
and the literature of Europe."

England's interest in this extensive region
dates back to the very dawn of her colonial
history. The foundations of theexisting colonies
were laid in "the spacious age " of Elizabeth, in
the period following the defeat of the Spanish
Armada, when the great Queen's reign was
drawing to its splendid close in a blaze of
triumphant commercial achievement.

Drake carried the English flag through the
Straits of Malacca in his famous circumnaviga-
tion of the world in 1579. But it was left to
another of the sturdy band of Elizabethan
adventurers to take the first real step in the
introduction of English influence into the
archipelago. The Empire-builder who laid the
corner-stone of the noble edifice of which we
are treating was James Lancaster, a bluff old
sailor who had served his apprenticeship in the
first school of English seamanship of that or
any other day. It is probable that he accom-
panied Drake on his tour round the world : he
certainly fought with him in the great struggle
13

against the Armada. After that crowning vic-
tory, when the seas were opened everywhere to
vessels bearing the English flag, men's thoughts
were cast towards that Eldorado of the East
of which glowing accounts had been brought
back by the early adventurers. Then was laid
the corner-stone of the structure which, in pro-
cess of time, developed into the mighty Eastern
Empire of Britain. The first direct venture
was the despatch of three small ships, with
Lancaster as second in command, to the
East. Quitting Plymouth on .\pril 10, 1591,
these tiny vessels, mere cockboats compared
with the leviathans which now traverse the
ocean, after an adventurous voyage reached
Pulo Pinang in June of the same year. The
crews of the squadron were decimated by
disease. On Lancaster's ship, the Edward
Bonavcutnrc, there were left of a complement
of upwards of a hundred " only 33 men and
one boy, of which not past 22 were found for
labour and help, and of them not past a third
sailors." Nevertheless, after a brief sojourn
Lancaster put to sea, and in August captured a
small Portuguese vessel laden with pepper,
another of 250 tons burthen, and a third of 750
tons. \A'ith these valuable prizes the daring
adventurer proceeded home, afterwards touch-

14

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH 'v ALAYA

ing at Point de Galle, in Ceylon, to recruit.
The return voyage was marked by many
thrilling episodes, but eventually the ships got
safely to their destinations, though of the crew
of 198 who had doubled the Cape only 25
landed again in England.

The terrible risks of the adventure were soon
forgotten in the jubilation which was caused by
the results achieved. These were of a char-
acter to fire men's imaginations. On the one
hand the voyagers had to show the valuable
booty which they had captured from the Portu-
guese ; on the other they were able to point to
the breaking of the foreign monopoly of the
lucrative Eastern trade which was implied in
their success. The voyage marked an epoch
in English commercial history. As a direct

On June 5th following the fleet reached Achin.
A most cordial reception awaited Lancaster at
the hands of the King of Achin. The fame of
England's victory over Spain had enormously
enhanced her prestige in the Eastern world,
and in Achin there was the greater disposition
to show friendliness to the English because
of the bitter enmity of the Achinese to the
Portuguese, whose high-handed dealings had
created a lively hatred of their rule. Lan-
caster, who bore with him a letter from the
Queen to the native potentate, seems to have
been as clever a diplomat as he was able a
sailor. The royal missive was conveyed to the
native Court with great pomp. In delivering it
with a handsome present, Lancaster declared
that the purpose of his coming was to establish

POETRAIT OF SIR FRANCIS DRAKE WITH HAWKINS AND CAVENDISH.

(Reproduced by permission of the Lords of the Admiralty from the picture in the Gallery at Greenwich Hospital.)
Drake was the first EngUshman to navigate a ship through the Straits of Malacca.

result of it followed the formation of the East
India Company. The various steps which led
up to that important event lie beyond the pro-
vince of the present narrative. It is sufficient
for the purposes in hand to note that when the
time had come for action Lancaster was selected
by the adventurers to command the Company's
first fleet, and that he went out duly commisr
sioned by the authority of the Queen as their
Governor-General." Established in the Red
Dragon, a ship of 600 tons burthen, and with
three other vessels under his control, Lancaster
sailed from Woolwich on February 13, 1600-1.

" This point, which has been overlooked by man\-
writers, is made clear by this entry to be found in
the Hatfield Manuscripts (Historical Manuscripts
Commission), Part xi. p. 18 : " i5oo-i, Jan. 24th.
Letters patent to James Lancaster, chosen by the
Governor and Company of the Merchants of London
trading to the East Indies as their Governor-General.
The Queen approves of their choice, and grants
authority to Lancaster to exercise the office."

peace and amity between his royal mistress and
her loving brother the miglity King of Achin.
Not to be outdone in courtesy, the Sumatran
prince invited Lancaster and his officers to a
magnificent banquet, in which the service was
of gold, and at which the King's damsels, richly
attired and adorned with jewellery, attended,
and danced and sang for the guests' edification.
The culminating feature of the entertainment
was the investiture of Lancaster by the King
with a splendid robe and the presentation to
him of two kriscs — the characteristic weapon of
Malaya, without which no honorific dress is
considered complete by the Malays. What was
more to the purpose than these honours, grati-
fying as they were to the Englishmen, was the
appointment of two nobles, one of whom was
the chief priest, to settle with Lancaster the
terms of a commercial treaty. The negotiations
proceeded favourably, and in due course Lan-

caster was able to congratulate h.mself on
having secured for his country a formal and
exp lick right to trade in Achin. The progress
expncu iit,iiL watched with

of events, meanwhile, was Demg w
jealous anxiety by the Portugiiese who knew
'that the intrusion of so formidable a rival as
England into their sphere of influence boded ill
for the future of their power. Attempts were
actually made to sterilise the negotiations, but
Lancaster was too well acquainted with Portu-
guese wiles to be taken at a disadvantage. On
the contrary, his skill enabled him to turn the
Portuguese weapons against themselves. By
bribing the spies sent to Achin he got informa-
tion which led to the capture of a rich prize
—a fully laden vessel of 900 tons— in the Straits
of Malacca. Returning to Achin after this ex-
pedition, Lancaster made preparations for the
homeward voyage, loading his ships with
pepper, then a costly commodity in England
ovifing to the monopolising policy of the Portu-
guese and the Spaniards. He seems to have
continued to the end in high favour with the
King. At the farewell interview the old monarch
asked Lancaster and his officers to favour him
by singing one of the Psalms of David. This
singular request was complied with, the selec- ,;
tionbeing given with much solemnity.' On Nov-
ember 9, 1602, the Red Dragon weighed anchor I
and proceeded to Bantam, where Lancaster % t| '
established a factory. A second trading estab- { ■
lishment was formed in the Moluccas. This done^
the Red Dragon, with two of the other vessels of
the fleet, steered a course homeward. The little
squadron encountered a terrible storm off the
Cape, which nearly ended in disaster to the
enterprise. Lancaster's good seamanship, how-
ever, brought his vessels through the crisis
safely. It says much for the indomitable spirit
of the man that when the storm was at its
height and his own vessel seemed on the point
of foundering he wrote, for transmission by one
of the other ships, a letter to his employers at
home, assuring them that he would do his
utmost to save the craft and its valuable cargo,
and concluding with this remarkable sentence ;
" The passage to the East Indies lies in 62 de-
grees 30 minutes by the NW. on the America
side."' Lancaster reached England on Septem-
ber II, 1603. The country resounded with
praises of his great achievement. Milton, as
a boy, must have been deeply impressed with
the episode, for it inspired some of his stateliest
verse. Obvious references to Lancaster's voy-
ages are to be found, as Sir George Birdwood
has pointed out,3 in " Paradise Lost," in the
poet's descriptions of Satan. Thus, in Book II.
we have a presentment of the Evil One as he

" Puts on swift wings and then soars
Up to the fiery concave towering high
As when far off at sea a fleet descried
Hangs in the clouds, by equinoctial winds
Close sailing from Bengala, or the isles
Of Ternate aud Tidore, whence merchants bring
Their spicy drugs ; tliey on the trading flood
Through the wide Ethiopian to the Cape
Ply, stemming nightly towards the Pole.
So seemed far off the flying fiend."

■ Marsden's " History of Sumatra," i. p. 436.

= Hakluyt's " Principal Xavigations," ii. p. 2,
1. 102.

3 " Report on the Old Records of the East India
Company," p. 205.

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

15

And again in Book IV. :

" So on he fares, and to the border comes
Of Eden . .
A sylvan scene .
Of stateliest view . .

. . able to drive
All sadness but despair ; now gentle gales
Fanning their odoriferous wings, dispense
Native perfumes, and whisper whence they

stole
Those balmy spoils. As when to them who

sail
Beyond the Cape of Hope, and now are past
Mozambick, off at sea North East winds blow
Sabean odours from the spicy shore
Of Araby the Blest ; with such delay
Well pleased they slack their course, and many

a league
Cheer'd with the grateful smell Old Ocean

smiles :
So entertain'd those odorous sweets the fiend
Who came their bane."

This Rne imagery shows how deep was the
impression made upon the nation by Lan-
caster's enterprise. But it was in its practical
aspects that the success achieved produced the
most striking results. The immediate frilit of the
voyage was a great burst of commercial activity.
The infant East India Company gained ad-
herents on all sides, and men put their- capital
into it in confident assurance that they would
reap a golden return on their investment. So
the undertaking progressed until it took its
place amongst the great established institutions
of the country. Meanwhile Lancaster dropped
into a wealthy retirement. He lived for a good
many years in leisured ease, and dying, left a
substantial fortune to his heirs..

The history of the East India Company in
its earliest years was a chequered one. The
Dutch viewed the intrusion of their English
rivals into the Straits with jealous apprehension,
and they lost no opportunity of harassing the

trading operations of both. But the conditions
of the compact were flagrantly disregarded by
the Dutch, and soon the relations of the repre-
sentatives of the two nations were on a more

nearly all their factories from the archipelago,
p'ive years later the factory at Bantam was,
however, re-established as a subordinate
agency to Surat. It was subsequently (in 1634-

SPECIMENS OF THE MALAY KBIS.

Company's agents. In 1619 a treaty was con-
cluded between the English and the Dutch
Governments with a view to preventing the
disastrous disputes which had impeded the

The Red Dragon, Captain ^^-^''^^ ^^ xl^c ktr^at

Anno loOi- -^

unfavourable footing than ever. Up to this
time, says Sir George Birdwood, the English
Company had no territory in sovereign right in
the Indies excepting the island of Lantore or
Great Banda. This island was governed by a
commercial agent who had under him 30
Europeans as clerks, and these, with 250 armed
Malays, constituted the only force by which it
was protected. In the islands of Banda, Pulo
Roon, and Rosengyn, and at Macassar and
Achin and Bantam, the Company's factories and
agents were without any military defence. In
1620, notwithstanding the Treaty of Defence,
the Dutch expelled the English from Pulo Roon
and Lantore, and in 1621 from Bantam. On
the 17th February, 1622-23, occurred the famous
massacre of Araboyna, which remained as a
deep stain on the English name until it was
wiped out by Cromwell in the Treaty of West-
minster of 1654. In 1624 the English, unable
to oppose the Dutch any longer, withdrew

35) again raised to an independent presidency,
and for some years continued to be the chief
seat of the Company's power in the Straits.
The factory was long a thorn in the Dutch side,
and they adopted a characteristic method to
extract it. In 1677 the Sultan of Bantam had
weakly shared the regal power with his son.
This act led to dissensions between parent and
child, and finally to open hostilities. The Dutch
favoured the young Sultan and actively assisted
him. The English threw the weight of their
influence into the scale in favour of the father.
They acted on the sound general principle of up-
holding the older constituted authority ; but
either from indecision or weakness they re-
frained from giving more than moral support to
iheir pro lege. When, as subsequently happened,
the young Sultan signally defeated his father and
seated himself firmly on the throne as the sole
ruler of the State, they paid the penalty of their
lack of initiative by losing their pied ,'i terre in

16

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI>AYA

EUROPEAN TBADEES AT THE COURT OF AN EASTERN PRINCE.

Bantam. On April I, 1682, the factory was
taken possession of by a party of Dutch
soldiers, and on the 12th August following the

to repair the mischief caused by the Dutch.
The outcome of their deliberations with the
authorities at the Western India factory was

VIEW OF THE ISLAND OF BANDA.

agent and his council were deported in Dutch
vessels to Batavia. A twelvemonth later the
expropriated officials were at Surat, attempting

the despatch of a mission, headed by Messrs.
Ord and Cawley, two expert officials, to Achin,
to set up, if possible, a factory there to take the

place of the one which had existed at Bantam.
On arrival at their destination the envoys found
established upon the throne a line of queens.
The fact that a female succession had been
adopted is thought by Marsden, the historian of
Sumatra, to have been due to the influence
exercised by our Queen Elizabeth, whose won-
derful success against the Spanish arms had
carried her fame to the archipelago, where the
Spanish and Portuguese power was feared and
hated. However that may be, the English
mission was received with every mark of
respect by the reigning Queen — Anayet Shah.
Suspicions appear to have been entertained by
the visitors that her Majesty was not a woman,
but a eunuch dressed up in female apparel.
Marsden, however, thinks that they were mis-
taken in their surmise, and he cites a curious
incident related in the record drawn up by
Messrs. Ord and Cawley of their proceedings
as conclusive evidence that his view is the
correct one. " We went to give an audience at
the palace this day as customary," write the
envoys ; " being arrived at the place of audience
with the Orang Kayos, the Queen was pleased to
order us to come nearer, when her Majesty was
very inquisitive into the use of our wearing
periwigs, and what was the convenience of
them, to all of which we returned satisfactory
answers. After this her Majesty desired of
Mr. Ord, if it were no affront to him, that he
should take off his periwig that she might see
how he appeared without it ; which, according

TWENTIETH CENTURY TMrRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

17

to her Majesty's request, he did. She then told
us she had heard of our business, and would
give her answer by the Orang Kayos, and so

proof against English determination. Gra-
dually but surely the East India Company's
authority at the chosen centres was consoli-

VIBW AT BANTAM, ISLAND OF JAVA.
(From \\\ Alexander's drawings to illustrate Lord Macartney's Embassy to China.)

we retired." The Queen's reply was a favour-
able one, but circumstances rendered it un-
necessary to proceed further with the scheme
of establishing a factory in Achin. It chanced
that the visit of the English mission coincided
with the arrival in Achin of a number of chiefs
of Priaman and other places on the West Coast
of Sumatra, and these, hearing of the English
designs, offered a site for a factory, with the
exclusive right of purchasing their pepper. Mr.
Ord readily listened to their proposals, and he
ultimately got the chiefs to embark with him for
Madras, for the purpose of completing a formal
arrangement. The business was carried through
by the Governor of Madras in the beginning of
the year 1685 on the terms proposed. Subse-
quently an expedition was fitted out with the
object of establishing the factory at Priaman.
A short time before it sailed, however, an invi-
tation was received at Madras from the chiefs
of Beng Kanlu (Bencoolen) to make a settle-
ment there. In view of the fact that a consider-
able portion of the pepper that was formerly
exported from Bantam came from this spot, it
was deemed advisable that Mr. Ord should iirst
proceed there. The English expedition arrived
at Bencoolen on June 25, 168S, and Mr. Ord
took charge of the territory assigned to the
Company. Afterwards other settlements were
formed at Indrapura and Manjuta. At Priaman
the Dutch had anticipated the English action,
and the idea of establishing a settlement there
had to be abandoned. The Dutch also astutely
prevented the creation of another English
trading centre at Batang-Kapas in 1686. The
unfriendly disposition shown in these instances
was part of a deliberate policy of crushing out
English trade in the Straits. Where factories had
been founded the Dutch sought to nullify them
by establishing themselves in the neighbour-
hood and using the utmost influence to prevent
the country people from trading with them.
Their machinations were not in the long run

dated, and within a few years Bencoolen
assumed an aspect of some prosperity. But its
progress was limited by an unhealthy situation,
and by natural disadvantages of a more serious
character. In the beginning of the eighteenth
century the old settlement was abandoned in
favour of a better site about three miles away
on the bay of Bencoolen.. The new town, to

of dignity by reason of the circumstance that it
was the headquarters of the Company's power
in these regions. But \ature never intended it
for a great commercial entrepot, and of the
leading factories of the East India Company it
represents probably the most signal failure.

In the early half of the eighteenth century
the course of British commerce in the Straits
ran smoothly. It is not until we reach the
year 1752 that we find any event of importance
in the record. At that period a forward policy
was initiated, and two new settlements were
established on the Smnatra coast. To one the
designation of Natal was given ; the other was
founded at Tappanuli. Natal in its time was
an important factory, but as a centre of British
commerce it has long since passed into the
limbo of forgotten things. In 1760, during our
war with France, a French fleet under Comte
d'Estaing visited the Straits and destroyed all
the East India Company's settlements on the
Sumatra coast. But the mischief was subse-
quently repaired, and the British rights to the
occupied territory were formally recognised in
the Treaty of Paris of 1763. Up to this period
Bencoolen had been subordinate to Madras, an
arrangement which greatly militated against its
successful administration. The establishment
was now formed into an independent presi-
dency, and provided with a charter for the
creation of a mayor's court. The outbreak of
the war with Holland brought the station into
special prominence. In.i7Si an expedition
was despatched from it to operate against the
Dutch estabUshments. It resulted in the seizure
of Pedang and other important points in
Sumatra. The British power was now practi-
cally supreme on the Sumatran coasts. But it

ANJOBE POINT, STRAITS OF SUNDA.
(From Alexander's drawings at the India Office.)

which the designation Fort Marlborough was
given, was an improvement on the original
settlement, and it attained to a certain position

had long been felt that an extension of British
influence and power beyond Sumatra was
desirable in the interests of a growing com-

18

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAT.AVA

merce in the Straits and for the protection of
our important China trade. The occupation of
Pinang in 1786, in circumstances which will
be detailed at a later stage of our narrative, was

its possession less burdensome. It continued
to the end of its existence a serious drag on the
Company's finances.
The year 1804 is memorable in Straits history

SIB T. STAMFORD RAFFLES.
(From the portrait by G. F. Joseph, .A.R.A., in the Xiitional Portrait Gallery.)

Street. There he remained until the occupa-
tion of Pinang gave him the opportunity, for
which his ardent spirit longed, of service
abroad. He went out with high hopes and
an invincible determination to justify the con-
fidence reposed in him. His spare momenls
on the voyage were occupied in learning the
Malay language and studying Malay literature.
Thus he was able to land with more than a
casual equipment for the work he had to do.
At Pinang he continued his linguistic studies,
with such good effect that in a short time he
was an acknowledged authority on Malayan
customs. His exceptional ability did not pass
without recognition. Through Dr. Leyden,
who had formed Raffles's acquaintance in
Pinang, Lord Minto, then Governor-General
of India, heard of this brilliant young official
who was making so distinguished a reputation
in paths not usually trodden by the Company's
junior servants. A visit to Calcutta in 1807 by
Raffles was an indirect consequence of the
introduction. Lord Minto received the young
man kindly, and discussed with him the question
of the extension of British influence in the
Malay Archipelago. Raffles ended by so im-
pressing the statesman with his grasp of the
situation that the latter conferred upon him
the position of Governor-General's Agent in
the Eastern seas. This extraordinary mark of
favour was completely justified when, four
years later. Lord Minto conducted in person an
expedition for the conquest of Java. The expe-
ditionary force consisted of nearly six thousand
British and as many Indian troops. Ninety
ships were required for the transport of the
force, which was at the time the largest ever
sent to those seas by a European Power.

the result. Nine years later Malacca, captured
from the Dutch, was added to our possessions.
These important centres gave a new strength
and significance to our position in the Straits.
But no change was made in the administrative
system until 1802, when an Act of Parliament
was passed authorising the East India Com-
pany to make their settlement at Fort Marl-
borough a factory subordinate to the presidency
of Fort William in Bengal, and to transfer to
Madras the servants who, on the reduction of
the establishment, should be supernumerary.
The change was prompted by economical con-
siderations. Bencoolen had always been a very
expensive appanage of the East India Company,
and the progress of events did not tend to make

as marking the advent to this important centre
of British influence of one who has carved in
indelible letters his name and fame upon British
colonial history. In September of that year
there landed at Pinang Thomas Stamford
Raffles, the man to whom more than to any
other Britain owes her present proud position
in the Straits of Malacca. Raffles came out
with no other advantages than his natural
endowments. The son of a sea captain en-
gaged in the West India trade, he was born on
board his father's ship on July 5, 1781. His
educational training was of the briefest. After
a few years' schooling at Hammersmith he, at
the early age of fourteen, entered the East India
Company's service as a clerk in Leadenhall

THE FIRST EARL OF MINTO.

(From a portrait bv James Atkinson in the National
Portrait Gallery.)

Raffles was chosen by Lord Minto as his chief
intelligence officer. He discharged his part
with the zeal and acumen which distinguished
him. But it was a time for all of great anxiety.

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

10

as the surveys of the archipelago at that period
were very inadequate, and no small peril
attended the navigation of so considerable a
fleet of transports as that which carried the
expeditionary force. The course which Raflles
advised for the passage of the ships was
severely criticised by naval authorities. But
Lord Minto placed confidence in his intelligence
officer's knowledge and judgment, and elected
to take his advice. The result was the trium-
phant vindication of Rafdes. The fleet, sailing
from Malacca on June ii, 1811, reached Batavia
early in August without a serious casualty of
any kind ; and the army, landing on the 4th of
that month, occupied Batavia on the gth, and
on the 25th inflicted a signal defeat on the
Dutch forces under General Janssens. The
battle so completely broke the power of the
Dutch that Lord Minto within six weeks was
' able to re-embark for India. Before leaving
he marked his sense of Raffles's services by
appointing him Lieutenant-Governor of the
newly conquered territory. Raflles's admini-
stration of Java brought out his greatest
qualities. Within a remarkably short time he
had evolved order out of chaos and placed the
dependency on the high road to affluent pros-
perity. When at the end of fi.ve years the time
came for him to lay down the reins of office, he
left the island with an overflowing treasury and
a trade flourishing beyond precedent. Return-
ing to England in 18 l6 with health somewhat
impaired by his arduous work in the tropics,
Raffles hoped for a tangible recognition of his
brilliant services. But his success had excited
jealousy, and there were not wanting detractors
who called in question certain aspects of his
administration. It is unnecessary for present
purposes to go into those forgotten con-
troversies. Suffice it to say that the attacks
were so far successful that no better position
could be found for Raffles than the Lieutenant-
Governorship of Bencoolen, a centre whose
obscurity had become more marked since the
occupation of Pinang.

Raffles assumed the office which had been
entrusted to him with the cheerful zeal which
was characteristic of the man. But even his
sanguine temperament was not proof against
the gloomy influences which pervaded the
place. An earthquake which had occurred
just before he landed had done great damage
to the station, and this disaster had accentuated
he forlornness of the outlook. Raffles drew a
vivid picture of the scene which confronted him
in a letter written on April 7, 1818, a few days
after landing. " This," he wrote, •' is without
exception the most wretched place I ever
beheld . . . the roads are impassable, the
highways in the town overrun with rank
grass, the Government house a den of ravenous
dogs and polecats. The natives say that Ben-
coolen is now a Taiii mati (dead land). In
truth I could never have conceived anything
half so bad. We will try and make it better,
and if I am well supported from home the
West Coast may yet be turned to account."
The moral condition of the place was in keep-
ing with its physical aspect. Public gaming
and cock-fighting were not only practised

under the eye of the chief authority, but pub-
licly patronised by the Government. This laxity
had its natural consequences in an excess of
criminality. Murders were daily committed
and robberies perpetrated which were never
traced ; profligacy and immorality obtruded
themselves in every direction.'

The truth is that Bencoolen at this time was
decaying of its own rottenness. Throughout
its existence it had been a sink of corruption
and official extravagance, and these qualities
had honeycombed it to a point almost of com-
plete destruction. A story familiar in the Straits
illustrates aptly the traditions of the station.
At one period there was a serious discrepancy
— amounting to several thousand dollars —
between the sum to the credit of the public
account and the specie in hand. Naturally the
authorities in Leadenhall Street demanded an
explanation of this unpleasant circumstance.
They were told that the blame was due to
white ants, though it was left to conjecture
whether the termites had demolished the
money or simply the chest which contained it.
The directors made no direct comment upon
this statement, but a little later despatched to
Bencoolen, unasked, a consignment of files.
At a loss to know why these articles had been
sent out, the Bencoolen officials sought au
explanation. Then they were blandly told that
they were to be used against the teeth of the
white ants should the insects again prove
troublesome. It is probable that this was a
sort of Leadenhall Street Roland for a Ben-
coolen Oliver, for just previous to this incident
the home authorities had made themselves
ridiculous by solemnly enjoining the Bencoolen
officials to encourage the cultivation of white
pepper, that variety being most valuable. On
that occasion it had been brought home to
the dense Leadenhall Street mind that black
and white pepper are from identical plants, the
difference of colour only arising from the
method of preparation, the latter being allowed
to ripen on the vine, while the former is
plucked when green. Mistakes of the character
of this one, it appears, were not uncommon in
the relations of the headquarters with Ben-
coolen. An almost identical incident is brought
to light in one of Raffles's letters. After he had
been some time at Bencoolen a ship was sent
out to him with definite instructions that it
should be loaded exclusively with pepper.
Owing to its extreme lightness, pepper alone
is an almost impossible cargo, and it was the
practice to ship it with some heavy commodity.
Acting on these principles. Raffles, in anticipa-
tion of the vessel's arrival, had accumulated a
quantity of sugar for shipment. But in view of
the peremptoriness of his orders he withdrew
it, and the vessel eventually sailed with the
small consignment of pepper which was pos-
sible having regard to the safety of the vessel.

Bencoolen from the beginning to the end of
its existence as an English trading centre was
but a costly white elephant to the East India
Company. Raffles's opinion upon it was that
" it was certainly the very worst selection that
could have been made for a settlement. It is

I " Memoir of Sir T. Stamford Raftles," p. ^97.

completely shut out of doors ; the soil is, com-
paratively with the other Malay countries, in-
ferior ; the population scanty ; neighbourhood
or passing trade it has none ; and further, it
wants a harbour, to say nothing of its long
reputed unhealthiness and the undesirable state
of ruin into which it has been allowed to run." '
Yet at this period the administration of the
settlement involved an expenditure of ;f 100,000
a year, and the only return for it, as Raffles
contemptuously put it, was "a few tons of
pepper." In the view of the energetic young
administrator the drawbacks of the place were
accentuated by the facility with which the
pepper trade was carried on by the Americans
without any settlement of any kind. In a letter
to Marsden, with whom he kept up an active
correspondence, Raffles wrote under date April
28, 1818 : "There have been no less than nine-
teen Americans at the northern ports this sea-
son, and they have taken away upwards of
60,000 pekuls of pepper at nine dollars. It is
quite ridiculous for us to be confined to this
spot in order to secure the monopoly of
500 tons, while ten times that amount may be
secured next door without any establishment
at all."

The wonder is that, with practically no ad-
vantages to recommend it, and with its serious
drawbacks, Bencoolen should so long have
remained the Company's headquarters. The
only reasonable explanation is that the directors
held it as a- counterpoise to Ihe Dutch power in
these waters. Dutch policy aimed at an abso-
lute monopoly, and it was pursued with an
arrogance and a greed which made it impera-
tive on the guardians of British interests in
these latitudes that it should be resisted with
determination. Resisted it was, as the records
show, through long years, but it cannot truly
be said that in dissipating energies and sub-
stance at Bencoolen the Company adopted a
sensible course. By their action, indeed, they
postponed for an unnecessarily protracted
period the seating of British power in the
Straits in a position adequate to the great trade
and the commanding political interests which
Britain even at that period had in the East.
But no doubt the consolidation of our position
in India absorbed the energies and the resources
of the Company in the eighteenth century, and
prevented them from taking that wider view
which was essential. That the authorities in
India were not unmindful of the importance of
extending British influence in the Straits is
shown by the readiness with which, when the
value of the position had been brought home
to them by Light, they took the necessary steps
to occupy Pinang in 1786. Still, the full lesson
of statesmanship had yet to be taught them, as
is indicated by the fact that within eight years
of the hoisting of the British flag on Prince of
Wales Island, as it was officially designated, its
abandonment in favour of a station on the
Andamans was seriously proposed. It re-
mained for Raffles to teach that lesson. How
his instruction was given and the results which
flowed from it, are matters which must be dealt
with in a separate section.

' Ibid., p. 463.

20

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

SINGAPORE.

CHAPTER.!.

The Occupation axd the Fight against
Dutch Pretensions and Official
Jealousy.

THE retrocession of Malacca under the
terms of the Treaty of Vienna was
almost universally felt throughout the Straits
to be a great blow to British political and com-
mercial influence. Regarded at home as a
mere pawn to be lightly sacrificed on the
diplomatic chess-board, the settlement through-
out the Eastern seas enjoyed a prestige second
to that of hardly any other port east of Cal-
cutta, and its loss to those on the spot appeared
a disaster of the first magnitude. There was
substantial reason for the alarm excited. The
situation of the settlement in the very centre of
the Straits gave its owners the practical com-
mand of the great highway to the Far East.
It was the historic centre of power to which all
Malaya had long been accustomed to look as
the seat of European authority ; it was a com-
mercial emporium which for centuries had
attracted to it the trade of these seas. But
these were not the only considerations which
tinged the minds of the British community
in the Straits with apprehension when they
thought over the surrender of the port, with
all that it implied. From the Dutch settle-
ments across the sea were wafted with every

man, the Governor of Pinang, to number
twelve thousand men, including a considerable
proportion of highly-trained European troops,

CHANTREY'S BUST OF SIB STAMFOED

RAFFLES.

(From the " Memoir of Sir T. Stamford Raffles.")

had been concentrated in Netherlands India.
With it was <i powerful naval squadron, well
manned and equipped. These and other cir-
cumstances which were brought to light indi-

THE ROADS, BATAVIA.
(I'Yom Von de Velde's " Gesigtenuit Neerlands Indie.")

ship rumours of preparations which were being
made for the new regime which the reoccupa-
tion of Malacca was to usher in. An imposing
military force, estimated by Colonel Banner-

cated that the reoccupation of Malacca was to
be the signal for a fresh effort on the part of
Ihe Dutch to secure that end for which they
had been struggling for two centuries— the

absolute domination of the Straits of Malacca
and of the countries bordering upon that great
waterway.

One of the first public notes of alarm at the
ominous activity of the Dutch was sounded by
the commercial men of Pinang. On June 8,
1818, the merchants of that place sent a me-
morial to Government inviting the attention of
the Governor to the very considerable inter-
course now carried on by British subjects in
India " with the countries of Perak, Salangore,
and Riho in the Straits of Malacca, and the
island of Singha, and Pontiana and other ports
on the island of Borneo," and suggesting— in
view of the transfer of Malacca and the pro-
bable re-adoption by the Dutch of their old
exclusive policy, by which they would " endea-
vour to make such arrangements with, and to
obtain such privileges from, the kings or chiefs
of those countries as might preclude British
subjects from the enjoyment of the present
advantageous commerce they now carry on "
— the expediency of the British Government
" endeavouring to make such amicable commer-
cial treaties and alliances with the kings and
chiefs of these places as may effectually secure
to British subjects the freedom of commerce
with those countries, if not on more favourable
terms, which, from the almost exclusive trade
British subjects have carried on with them for
these twenty years past, we should suppose
they might even be disposed to concede."'

There is no evidence that any formal reply
was ever made to this representation, but. that
it was not without fruit is shown by the subse-
quent action of the Government. They penned
an earnest despatch to the Supreme Govern-
ment, deploring the cession of the port and
pointing out the serious effect the action taken
was likely to have on British trade and prestige.
Meanwhile Mr. Cracroft, Malay translator to
the Government, was sent on a mission to
Perak and Selangor, with instructions to con-
clude treaties if possible with the chiefs of
those States. At the same tiine a despatch was
forwarded to Major Farquhar, the British Resi-
dent at Malacca, directing him to conduct a
similar mission to Riau, Lingen, Pontiana, and
Slack. Mr. Cracroft, after a comparatively
brief absence, returned with treaties executed
by both the chiefs to whom he was accredited.
Major Farquhar's mission proved a far more
difficult one. Embarking at Malacca on July
19th, he made Pontiana his first objective, as he
had heard of the despatch of a Dutch expedition
from Batavia to the same place, and was
anxious to anticipate it if possible. He, how-
ever, brought up off Riau for the purpose of
delivering letters, announcing his mission, to
the Raja Muda, the ruling authority of the
place, and to the Sultan of Lingen, who conld
be reached from that quarter. After a tedious
passage he arrived at Pontiana on August 3rd,
but, to his mortification, found that the Dutch
had anticipated him and had occupied the
place. Dissembling his feelings as best he

» " Straits Settlements Records," Xo. 66

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

21

could, he after a brief interval weighed anchor
and directed his course to Lingen. Here he
was told that the political authority was vested
in the Raja Muda of Riau, to whom applica-
tion for the treaty must be made. Acting on
the suggestion, Farquhar went to Riau, and
concluded what he then regarded as a very
satisfactory arrangement. Subsequently he
visited Bukit Bahoo in Slack, and concluded
a like treaty there on August 31st. Returning
to Malacca, Farquhar forwarded the treaties to
Pinang with a covering despatch of much inte-
rest in the light of subsequent events. In this
communication the writer expressed his desire
to put before the Governor of Pinang some
considerations relative to the situation created
by the retrocession to the Dutch of Malacca,
" the Key of the Straits " — an event which, in
his view, could not be too much deplored.
The provident measures adopted of concluding
alliances with native States would, he said,
prove of much ultimate benefit in preserving
an open and free trade. But however strong
might be the attachment of the native chiefs to
the British, and however much they might
desire to preserve the terms of the treaties
inviolate, it would be quite impossible for them
to do so unless strenuously supported and pro-
tected by our influence and authority. In the
circumstances it seemed to him that " the most
feasible, and indeed almost only, method to
counteract the evils which at present threaten
to annihilate all free trade to the Eastern
Archipelago would be by the formation of a
new settlement to the eastward of Malacca."
" From the observations I have been able to
make on my late voyage, as well as from
former experience, there is," Farquhar con-
tinued, " no place which holds ■ out so many
advantages in every way as do the Kariman
Islands, which are so situate as to be a com-
plete key to the Straits of Sincapore, Dryon,
and Soban, an advantage which no other place
in the Straits of Malacca possesses, as all trade,
whether coming from the eastward or west-
ward, must necessarily pass through one or
other of the above straits. A British settle-
ment, therefore, on the Karimans, however
small at first, would, I am convinced, very soon
become a port of great consequence, and not
only defray its own expenses, but yield in time
an overplus revenue to Government." The
~ Karimuns, Farquhar went on to say, were un-
inhabited, but as they were attached to the
dominions of the Sultan of Johore, he suggested
that means should be adopted of obtaining a
regular transfer of the islands from that
potentate.

In forwarding Farquhar's despatches to the
Governor-General, Colonel Bannerman drew
attention in serious terms to the menace of the
Dutch policy in regard to native States. He
pointed out that they had twelve thousand
troops in their possessions, and that the pre-
sence of this force between India and China
involved a distinct danger to British interests.
He did not, however, support Farquhar's sug-
gestion in regard to the Karimun Islands, on
the ground that " the expense of maintaining a
settlement on an uninhabited island would be
enormous," and that "the insulated situation of
Kariman and its remoteness from all support
would require a considerable military force to

guard it against the large fleets of piratical
prows infesting that part of the Straits, as well
as against the nations of the adjoining coun-
tries."

Finally he stated that the subject was under
the consideration of the Government of
Bengal.

In a later despatch, dated the 7th of Novem-

THB STRAITS OF STJNDA.
(From a sketch in the India Office.)

Before he had received any intimation as to
the views held by Colonel Bannerman, Far-
quhar, deeming that the matter was one of
urgency, took upon himself the responsibility
of writing to the Raja Muda of Riau, asking
him if he were willing to forward the transfer
of the Karimun Islands to the British. The
Raja replied cautiously that, though he had no
objection to the British examining the islands,
he did not deem himself in a position to come
to any definitive arrangement. In transmitting
this information to Colonel Bannerman, Far-
quhar reasserted the desirability of acquiring
the Karimuns, and stated that he thought a
small force — " two companies of native in-
fantry, with a proportion of artillery assisted
by a few hundred convicts " — would be suffi-
cient to garrison it.

While the arrangements for the transfer of
Malacca were in progress a claim was raised
by the Dutch to the suzerainty of Riau and
Perak on the ground that they were depen-
dencies of Malacca, and reverted to them with
that settlement, in spite of the fact that imm.e-
diately after the capture of Malacca in 1795
the Sultan of Riau was restored to the full
enjoyment of his sovereign rights by the
British.

Farquhar, writing from Malacca to Banner-
man on the 22nd of October, stated that he had
been questioned by the Dutch Commissioners
as to the intentions of his Government in regard
to the formation of a settlement to the eastward
of Malacca, and had informed them officially
that friendly communications had already been
made with the constituted authorities of Lingen
and Riau, and their permission obtained for
examining and surveying the Karimun and
neighbouring islands, and also a general con-
currence in the views of his Government.

ber, Farquhar enclosed a communication from
the Dutch Commissioners raising definitely
the question of the vassalage of the States
of Lingen, Riau, &c., arising out of old
treaties said to have been formed with those
States thirty or forty years previously. In the
letter from the Dutch was intimated in the
most explicit terms a firm determination on
the part of their Government not to permit
the Raja of Johore, Pahang, &c., to cede to
the British the smallest portion of his heredi-
tary possessions.

In a despatch dated November 21, 1818,
Bannerman forwarded Farquhar's letter and
the Dutch Commissioners' communication to
the Governor-General with the remark, " No
sanction or authority has been given to Major
Farquhar to negotiate for the Kariman Islands,
or even to discuss the question with the Dutch
authorities." "My letters to' the Governor-
General," Bannerman added, " exemplify to
his Excellency in Council rather the prevalence
of an opinion adverse to their occupation than
any sanction to the discussion of the question
itself." The communication proceeded : " It
appears to the Governor in Council that the
late discussions have had a tendency to stamp
the Kariman Islands with a degree of impor-
tance which their value cannot sanction ; but at
the same time they have led to a more complete
development of the views of general aggran-
disement with which the Netherlands Govern-
ment are actuated, and it may be feared that
the pretensions of that Power to the undivided
sovereignty in the Eastern seas, or the tenacity
with which they are prepared to support their
claims, will be productive of considerable dis-
advantage to British interests unless counter-
acted by timely arrangements."

Such was the position of events at the end of

22 TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

November as far as Pinang was concerned.
But in the interval between the first raising of
the question and the transmission of Colonel
Bannerraan's warning despatch to the Gover-
nor-General there had been important develop-
ments in another quarter.

In the early days of his exile at Bencoolen,
brooding over the situation in which the Treaty
of Vienna had placed British power in the
Straits, Raffles was quick to see that the time
had come for a new departure in policy if
British power was to hold its own in this part
of the globe. His earliest correspondence from
the settlement indicates his anxiety on the
point. In a letter dated April 14, 1818, and
despatched a week or two after his arrival, he
wrote : " The Dutch possess the only passes
through which ships must sail into this archi-
pelago, the Straits of Sinida and of Malacca ;
and the British have not now an inch of
ground to stand upon between the Cape of
Good Hope and China, nor a single friendly
port at which they can water or obtain refresh-
ments. It is indispensable that some regular
and accredited authority on the part of the
British Government should exist in. the archi-
pelago, to declare and maintain the British
rights, whatever they are, to receive appeals,
and to exercise such wholesome control as
may be conducive to the preservation of the
British honour and character. At present the
authority of the Government of Prince of Wales
Island extends no further than Malacca, and
the Dutch would willingly confine that of
Bencoolen to the almost inaccessible and
rocky shores of the West Coast of Sumatra.
To effect the objects contemplated some con-
venient station within the archipelago is neces-
sary ; both Bencoolen and Prince of Wales
Island are too far removed, and unless we
succeed in obtaining a position in the Straits
of Sunda, we have no alternative but to fix it in
the most advantageous position we can find
within the archipelago ; this would be some-
where in the neighbourhood of Bintang." ■

Bintang, or Bentan as it is now called, is an
island in the Riau Strait, about 30 miles from
Singapore at the nearest point. The reference
shows that Raffles had a clear conception of
the importance of a good strategic as well as a
favourable trading position, and knew exactly
where this was to be found. There is reason
to think that he actually had Singapore in his
mind even at this early period. His corre-
spondence suggests that his thoughts had long
been cast in that direction, and other circum-
stances make it inherently probable that a
definite scheme for establishing a British
settlement there was actually formed by him
before he left England. The point is not very
material. Even assuming that Raffles had not
the undivided honour of discovering, or, more
properly, rediscovering, Singapore, it was
beyond all reasonable question he who gave
the proposal for the occupation of the point
living force, and ensured its success by a
series of well-planned and cleverly executed
measures, followed by the initiation of an
administrative policy marked by statesmanlike
judgment.

Once having got into his mind the idea of
the necessity of counteracting Dutch influence
' " Memoir of Sir T. S. Raffles," p. 307.

by the establishment of a new settlement.
Rallies, with characteristic energy, proceeded
to enlist the support of the authorities. Within
a few months of his landing at Bencoolen he
was on his wa\' to India to lay his plans before
the Supreme.Government. At Calcutta he had
several conferences with the Marquess of
Hastings, the then Governor-General, and
put before him the case for the adoption of a
forward policy. He advocated, his biographer
says, no ambitious scheme. " In his own
words, he neither wanted people nor territory ;
all he asked was permission to anchor a line-of-
battle ship and hoist the English flag at the
mouth either of the Straits of .Malacca or of
Sunda, by which means the trade of England
would be secured and the monopoly of the
Dutch broken." ' As a result of the discussions
it was decided to concede to the Dutch their
pretensions in Sumatra, to leave to them the

FRANCIS BAWDON, FIRST MARQUESS

OF HASTINGS.

(From an engraving by Clent in the British Museum.)

exclusive command of the Straits of Sunda,
and " to limit interference to measures of
precaution by securing a free trade with the
archipelago and China through the Straits of
Malacca." In order to effect this and at the
same time to protect the political and com-
mercial interests in the Eastern seas gene-
rally, it was deemed essential that some central
station should be occupied to the southward of
Malacca. Finally, it was agreed that Raffles
should be the agent of the Governor-General to
carry out the policy decided upon, and Major
Farquhar was directed by the Calcutta Govern-
ment to postpone his departure and join Raffles
in his mission. Raffles, wriling to Marsden
under date Xovember 14, 1818, himself sums
up the results of his mission in this way : " I
have now to inform you that it is determined
to keep the command of the Straits of Malacca
by establishments at .-\chin and Rhio, and that
I leave Calcutta in a fortnight as the agent to
effect this important object. Achin I conceive
' Ibid., p. 370.

to be completely within our power, but the j
Dutch may be beforehand with us at Rhio.
They took possession of Pontiano and Malacca 5'
in July and August last, and have been bad
politicians if they have so long left Rhio open
to us." In a letter penned twelve days later to
the Duchess of Somerset, Raffles says : " I have
at last succeeded in making the authorities in
Bengal sensible of their supineness in allowing *
the Dutch to exclude us from the Eastern seas, «'
but I fear it is now too late to retrieve what we
have lost. I have full powers to do all that we
can ; and if anything is to be done I think I
need not assure your grace that it shall be done
and quickly done." It seems probable that in
the interval between these two letters informa-
tion had reached Calcutta of the Dutch occupa- •«
tion of Rhio (Riau). Whether so or not. Raffles, ,.i-
it is clear from a later letter addressed to Marsr
den froin " off the Sandheads " on December
12, 1818, had by the time he started on his
homewaid voyage turned his thoughts from
Riau in the direction of Singapore. " We are
now," he writes, " on our way to the eastward
in the hope of doing something, but I much
fear that the Dutch have hardly left us an inch
of ground to stand upon. My attention is prin-
cipally turned to Johore, and you must not be
surprised if my next letter to you is dated from
the site of the ancient city of Singapura." This
letter is important as an indication that Raffles's
designs were tending towards Singapore before
he left Calcutta and had had an opportunity of
consulting Major Farquhar.

On arrival at Pinang, Raffles found a very
discouraging situation. He was met with the
probably not unexpected news that the Dutch
had compelled the Rajas of Riau and Lingen .
to admit their troops into the former settlement
and to permit their colours to fly at Lingen,
Pahang, and Johore ; while an additional
example of their aggressiveness was supplied
by the arrest of the Sultan of Palembang and
the occupation of his capital wiih a thousand
troops, five hundred of whom were Europeans
in a high state of discipline. In. transmitting
information of these acts to the Governor-
General, Colonel Bannerman had penned a
despatch in terms which were no doubt com-
municated to Sir Stamford Raflles. In this
document the Governor of Pinang observed
that he thought that the Dutch action "must
prove to the Supreme Government the full
nature of those encroachments and monopolies
to which these acts wiU naturally tend. The
Governor in Council was satisfied that nothing
less than the uncontrolled and absolute posses-
sion of the Eastern trade would satisfy the
rapacious policy of the Dutch Government."
The despatch went on to point out that the
Dutch had now complete control of every port ■
eastward of Pinang, and had besides every
means, in a very superior military and naval
armament, to frustrate any attempt of the
British Government " to negotiate even a
common commercial alliance with any one of
the Stales in the Eastern seas." Finally the
despatch despairingly remarked, " To effect
therefore among them any political arrange: .
ments as a counterpoise to the influence of that
nation, it is needless to disguise, is now beyond
the power of the British Government in India."
These concluding words supply a keynote to

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

23

the attitude of Colonel Bannermaii. He had
clearly been overwhelmingly impressed with
Dutch activity and the resolution with which
they pursued their aims, and thought that the
position was beyond retrieval. He was not a
strong official. His despatches show him to
have been an opinionated and somewhat
irascible man, intolerant of criticism, and,
though genial in his social relations, endowed
with more than a common share of official
arrogance. Mingled with these qualities was
a constitutional timidity which prevented him
from taking any course which involved risk
or additional responsibility. He was, in fine,
the very worst type of administrator to deal
with a crisis such as that which had arisen in
the Straits. In receiving Raffles and com-
municating his views on the complicated
situation that had developed, he seems to have
given full rein to his pessimism. He was,
indeed, so entirely convinced that the position
was irretrievable that he had apparently made
up his mind to thwart Raffles's mission by
every means in his power. It is doing no
injustice to him to say that wedded to a
sincere belief in the futility of further action
was a feeling of soreness that this important
undertaking had been launched without refer-
ence to him and placed under the charge of an
official who held a less exalted position than
himself. In the recorded correspondence"
between himself and Raffles we find him at
the very ovitset taking up a position of almost
violent hostility and obstructiveness. The con-
troversy was 'opened by a letter addressed by
Bannerman to Raffles immediately after the
latter's arrival, detailing the acts of Dutch
aggressiveness and affirming the undesirability
of further prosecuting the mission in the
circumstances. To this Rafiles replied on
January i, 1819, saying that although Riau
was preoccupied, " the island of Sincapore
and the districts of Old Johore and the Straits
of Indiigeeree on Sumatra offer eligible points
for establishing the required settlement," and
declaring his inclination to the policy of pro-
ceeding at once to the eastward with a
respectable and efficient force. Bannerman,
in answer to this communication, wrote on the
3rd of January protesting against Raffles's pro-
posed action and refusing to grant the demand
which apparently had been made for a force
of 500 men to assist him in carrying out his
designs. In taking up this strong line Banner-
man does not appear to have carried his entire
Council with him. One member — Mr. Erskine
— expressed his dissent and drew upon himself
in consequence the wrath of his chief, who in
a fiery minute taunted him with vacillation on
the ground that he had at the outset been in
agreement with his colleagues as to the in-
advisability of the prosecution of the mission.
Raffles was not the man to be readily thwarted,
and we find him on the 4th of January
directing a pointed inquiry to Bannerman as
to whether he positively declined to aid him.
Thus brought to bay, the Governor found it
expedient to temporise. He wrote saying thai
he was willing to give military aid, but that he
did so only on Raffles's statement that he had
authority from the Governor-General apart
from the written instructions, Ihe terms of
' "Straits Settlements Records," No. 182A.

which were relied upon by Bannerman as
justifying the attitude he had assumed. The
bitter, unreasonable spirit which Raffles en-
countered produced upon him a natural feeling
of depression. " God only knows," he wrote
to Marsden on January 16, 1819, "where next
you may hear from me, but as you will be
happy to learn of the progress of my mission,
I will not lose the present opportunity of in-
forming you how 1 go on. Whether anything

to his destination, but that he had a definite
idea in his mind appears from a letter he wrote
the same day to Mi-. Adam, the Secretary to the
Supreme Government. In this he said: "The
island of Sincapore, independently of the
straits and harbour of Johore, which it both
forms and commands, has, on its southern
shores, and by means of the several small
islands which lie off it, excellent anchorage
and smaller harbours, and seems in every

COLONEL BANNERMAN.
(From an original drawing in the possession of tlie Rev. J. H. Bannsrman, Vicar of St. Stephen's, Congleton, Cheshire.)

is to be done to the eastward or inot is yet very
uncertain. By neglecting to occupy the place
we lost Rhio, and shall have difficulty in
establishing ourselves elsewhere, but I shall
certainly attempt it. At Achin the difficulties
I shall have to surmount in the performance
of my duty will be great and the annoyance
severe, but I shall persevere steadily in what
I conceive to be my duty." In this letter to
Marsden ignorance is professed by Raffles as

respect most peculiarly adapted for our object.
Its position in the Straits of Sincapore is far more
convenient and commanding than even Rhio
for our China trade, passing down the Straits
of Malacca, and every native vessel that sails
through the Straits of Rhio must pass in sight
of it." Raffles went on to say that there did
not appear to be any objection "to a station at
Sincapore, or on the opposite shore towards
Point Romanea, or on any other of the smaller

24

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

VIEW OF THE JUNGLE, SINGAPORE.

(From Captain Bethune's "Views in tlie Eastern Archipelago.")

islands which he off this part of the coast.
The larger harbour of Johore," he added, "is
declared by professional men whom I have
consulted, and by every Eastern trader of ex-
perience to whom I have been able to refer,
to be capacious and easily defensible, and the
British flag once hoisted, there would be no
want of supplies to meet the immediate neces-
sities of our establishment."

Three days after the despatch of this letter
Raffles sailed on his eventful mission. Major
Farquhar, who from the records appears to
have been at Pinang at the time, was com-
pletely won over to his views — " seduced " is
the phrase which Colonel Bannerman used
later — and accompanied him. It says much
for the strained character of the relations
which existed at the moment between Raffles
and the Pinang Government that in quitting
the harbour the former neglected to notify his
departure. Slipping their anchors, the four
vessels of his little fleet left at night-time
without a word from Raffles to the Govern-
ment. His mission being a secret one of the
highest importance, he probably felt indisposed
to supply more information about his move-
ments than was absolutely necessary to the
hostile officialdom of Pinang. However that
may be, the omission to give notice of sailing
appears to have been part of a deliberate
policy, for when some weeks later one of
Raffles's vessels had again to leave port, its

commander departed without the customary
formality, with the result that Colonel Banner-
man penned a flaming despatch to the
Governor-General invoking vengeance on the
culprit.

The mystery in which Raffles's intentions
and movements were, we may assume, pur-
posely enshrouded at this period has resulted in
the survival of a considerable amount of doubt
as to the actual course of events. It has even
been questioned whether he was actually
present at Singapore when the British flag
was hoisted for the first time. The records,
however, are absolutely conclusive on this
point. Indeed, there is so much direct evi-
dence on this as well as on other aspects of
the occupation that it is remarkable there
should have been any room for controversy
as to the leading part which Raffles played in
the transaction.

When Raffles sailed from Pinang, it is
probable that he had no fixed design in regard
to any place. He knew generally what he
wanted and he was determined to leave no
stone unturned to accomplish his end. But
beyond a leaning towards Singapore as in his
view the best centre, he had, it would seem
from the nature of his movements, an open
mind on the question of the exact location of
the new settlement. In the archives at the
India Office" there exists a memorandum,
I " Straits Settlements Records," Xo. lo.

drawn up by Mr. Benjamin S. Jones, who was
at the time senior clerk at the Board of Control,
detailing the circumstances which led up to the
occupation of Singapore. This document is
dated July 20, 1820, and it was probably pre-
pared with a view to the discussion then
proceeding with the Dutch as to the legality
of the occupation. As a statement of the
official views held at the time in regard to
Raffles's action it is of peculiar interest, and it
may be examined before we come to deal with
the movements of -the mission. At the outset
there is given this explanation of the causes
which led to its despatch :

" The Governor-General in Council, deeming
it expedient to secure the command of the
Straits of Malacca in order to keep open a
channel for British commerce, apparently
endangered by the schemes of exclusive policy
pursued by the Nethedandish Government,
determined to despatch Sir T. S. Raffles for
the purpose of improving the footing obtained
at Rhio. In his instructions dated December 5,
1818, it was observed that if the Dutch had
previously occupied Rhio it might be expedient
to endeavour to establish a connection with the
Sultan of Johore, but as so little was known
respecting that chief, Sir T. S. Raffles was
informed that it would be incumbent upon us
to act with caution and circumspection before
we entered into any engagements with him.
It was further observed that there was some

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

25

reason to think that the Dutch would claim
authority over the State of Johore by virtue of
some old engagements, and though it was
possible that the pretension might be success-
fully combated, it would not be consistent with
the policy and views of the Governor- General
in Council to raise a question of this sort with
the Netherlandish authorities. But in the
event of his procuring satisfactory information
concerning Johore, Sir T. S. Raffles was in-
structed, on the supposition of Rhio being
preoccupied by the Dutch, to open a negotia-
tion with the chief of Johore on a similar
basis to that contemplated at Rhio."

Then follows a relation of the circumstances
under which Singapore was selected by Raffles.

" In order to avoid collision with the Dutch
authorities. Sir T. S. Raffles determined to
avoid Rhio, but to endeavour to establish a
footing on some more unoccupied territory in
which we might find a port and accommoda-
tion for our troops, and where the British flag
might be displayed pending a reference to the
authorities in Europe. With this view he pro-
ceeded to Singapore. On his arrival off the
town a deputation came on board with the
compliments and congratulations of the chief
native authority and requested to know the
object of the visit. Having inquired whether
there was any Dutch settlement and flag at
Singapore and at Johore, and whether the
Dutch had by any means attempted to exercise
an influence or authority over the ports, the
deputation replied that Johore Lama, or Old
Johore, had long been deserted ; that the chief
authority over Singapore and all the adjacent
islands (excepting those of Lingen and Rhio)
then resided at the ancient capital of Singapore,
where no attempts had yet been made to
estabUsh the Dutch power and where no
Dutch flag would be received."

Such were the bald facts of the occupation
as officially related about eighteen months after
the hoisting of the British flag in the ancient
Malay capital. The account ma}' be supple-
mented with evidence from other quarters.
Nothing is said in Mr. Jones's memorandum
about visits paid by the mission to any other
spot than Singapore, but it is familiar know-
ledge that before proceeding to Singapore
Raffles put in at the Karimun Islands and at
Slack. His reasons for visiting these places
may be conjectured from the recital given of
the events which preceded his arrival at
Pinang. Major Farquhar, as we have seen,
was strongly in favour of the establishment of
a port on the Karimun Islands — so strongly,
indeed, that he had gone beyond his official
province to prepare the way for an occupation,
if such were deemed desirable by the higher
authorities. What would be more natural in
the circumstances than that he should induce
Raffles at the very earliest moment to visit the
spot which had struck him on his voyage to
Pontiana as being so peculiarly adapted to the
purposes of the new settlement? Whatever
the underlying motive, we have interesting
evidence of the circumstance that the Karimuns
were visited, and that Raffles found there ample
and speedy proof that the port was entirely
unsuitable. The facts are. set forth in a report
dated March i, 1819, presented to the Pinang
Government by Captain Ross, of the East

India Company's Marine. This ■ functionary,
it appears, had on the 15th of January pro-
ceeded to the Karimun Islands to carry out
a survey in accordance with official instruc-
tions, prompted, doubtless, by Major Farquhar's
advocacy of the port. His report was entirely
unfavourable to the selection of the islands.
"The Small Kariman," he wrote, "rises
abruptly from the water all round, and does
not afford any situation for a settlement on it.
The Great Kariman on the part nearest to the
small one is also very steep, and from thence
to the southward forms a deep bay, where the
land is principally low and damp, with much
mangrove along the shore, and three fathoms
water at two and a half miles off. The
channel between the two Karimans has deep
water, fourteen and fifteen fathoms, in it, but
it is too narrow to be used as a harbour." Sir
Stamford Raffles was furnished with Captain
Ross's opinion immediately on his arrival, and
it was that apparently which caused him to
turn his attention to Singapore. Recognising
the value of expert marine opinion, he took
Captain Ross with him across the Straits. The
results of the survey which that officer made
were embodied in a report, which may be given
as an interesting historical document associated
with the earliest days of the, life of the settle-
ment. Captain Ross wrote :

"Singapore Harbour, situate four miles to
.the NNE. of St. John's Island (in what is com-
monly called SInapore Strait), will afford a safe
anchorage to ships in . all seasons, and being
clear of hidden danger, the approach to it is
rendered easy by day or night. Its position
is also favourable for commanding the naviga-
tion of the strait, the track which the ships
pursue being distant about five miles ; and it
may be expected from its proximity to the
Malayan islands and the China Sea that in a
short time numerous vessels would resort to
it for commercial purposes.

" At the anchorage ships are sheltered from
ENE. round to north and west as far as SSW.
by the south point of Johore, Singapoora, and
many smaller islands extending to St. John's,
and thence round to the north point of Batang
(bearing ESE.) by the numerous islands form-
ing the southern side of Singapoora Strait.
The bottom, to within a few yards of shore,
is soft mud and holds well.

" The town of Singapoora, on the island of
the same name, stands on a point of land near
the western part of a bay, and is easily dis-
tinguished by there being just behind it a
pleasant-looking hill that is partly cleared of
trees, and between the point on which the
town is situate and the western one of the bay
there is a creek in which the native vessels
anchor close to the town, so it may be found
useful to European vessels of easy draft to
refill in. On the eastern side of the bay,
opposite to the town, there is a deep inlet lined
by mangroves, which would also be a good
anchorage for native boats; and about north
from the low sandy point of the bay there is a
village inhabited by fishermen, and a short
way to the eastward there is a passage through
the mangroves leading to a fresh - water
river. . . .

" The coast to the eastward of the town bay
is one continued sandy beach, and half-mile

to the eastward of the eastern point of the bay,
or two and a half from the town, there is a
point where the depth of water is six or seven
fathoms at three or four hundred yards from
the shore, and at eight hundred yards a small
bank with about three fathoms at low water.
The point offers a favoui-able position for
batteries to defend ships that may in time of
war anchor near to it.

"The tides during the napesare irregular at
two or three miles off shore, but close in other-
wise. The rise and fall will be about 10 and 12
feet, and it will be high water on full and
change at eight and a half hours. The latitude
of the town is about 1° 15J North, and variation
of the needle observed on the low eastern
point of the bay is 2" 9 East." '

Nothing hardly could have been more
satisfactory than this opinion by a capable
naval officer upon the maritime aspects of
Singapore. With it in his possession Raffles
had no difficulty in coming to a decision.
His experienced eye took in the splendid
possibilities which the island offered for the
purposes in hand. A practically uninhabited
island with a fine roadstead, it could, with a
minimum of difficulty and expense, be made
into a commercial centre, while its command-
ing position in the narrowest part of the Straits
of Malacca ga.ve it a political value beyond
estimate. Impressed with these features of
the situation, and swayed also, we may reason-
ably assume, by the classical traditions of the
spot. Raffles on January 29, 1819,=' ten days
after quitting Pinang, hoisted the British flag
on the island. The natural jubilation he felt
at the accomplishment of his mission found
vent in a letter to Marsden dated three days
later. In this he wrote : " Here I am at
Singapore, true to my word, and in the enjoy-
ment of all the pleasure which a footing on
such classic ground must inspire. The lines
of the old city and of its defences are still to be
traced, and within its ramparts the British
Union waves unmolested." In the midst of
his self-gratulation Raffles was not unmindful
of the dangers which still hindered his plans
from the jealousy of his rivals and the ignor-
ance and indifference of the authorities at
home. He made a special appeal to Marsden
for support on behalf of his most recent
attempt to extend British influence. "Most
certainly," he wrote, " the Dutch never had a
factory in the island of Singapore ; and it does
not appear to me that their recent arrange-
ments with a subordinate authority at Rhio can
or ought to interfere with our permanent estab-
lishment here. I have, however, a violent
opposition to surmount on the part of the
Pinang Government."

Raffles no doubt had in his mind when he
penned this appeal the possible effects of
Dutch strenuousness combined with Pinang
hostility on the weak and vacillating mind (as
it appeared markedly at this time) of the
Indian Government and the India Board.
His position, however, had been greatly
strengthened by arrangements which, after
landing on the island, he had found it possible
to make with the Dato' Temenggong of Johore,
" " Straits Settlements Records," \'o. 70, p. 432.
= In Raffles's " Memoir," by his wife, the date of
the hoisting of the flag is given as the 29th of
Fetiruary, but this is an obvious blunder.

26

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

a high State official with great ill-defined
powers, which placed him in a position almost
of equality with the Sultan. This individual
was resident on the island at the time of the
visit of the mission, and he sought an interview
with Raffles, in order to offer the British
envoy his assistance in the execution of his
designs. It fs probable that the offer was
prompted more by hatred of the Dutch than
love of the British. But Raffles was in no
mood to examine too closely into the motives
which dictated the Temenggong's action.
Realising the value of his support, he con-
cluded with him, on January 30th, a provisional
understanding for the regularising of the
occupation of the island. The Temenggong
appears to have represented himself as the
possessor of special rights, but Raffles deemed
it expedient to secure the confirmation of the
grant at the hands of the Sultan. It happened
that at this time the ruling chief was Sultan
Abdul Rahman, a man who was supported by
the Dutch and was completely under their
influence. Xo arrangement was possible with
him, and Raffles must have known as much
from the very first. But his fertile intellect
speedily found a way out of the difficulty. The
British envoy gathered from the Temenggong,
and possibly was aware of the fact previously,
that Abdul Rahman was the younger of two
sons of the previous Sultan, and as his brother
was living he was consequently a usurper.
Without loss of time Raffles, through the
Temenggong, sent to Riau for the elder
brother, Tunku Husein, and on the latter's

arrival in Singapore duly proclaimed him
Sultan of Johore. Afterwards a formal treaty,
dated February 6, 1819, was drawn up in which
the new Sultan joined with the Temenggong
in granting the British the right to settle on
the island. This treaty was strengthened by
three further agreements, one dated June 26,
1 819, another. June, 1823, and the thfrd,
November 19, 1824. But before the final treaty
was concluded, and Raffles's dream of British
domination at this point was realised, many a
battle against prejudice and stupidity had to
be fought.

In a despatch dated February 13, 1819,
reporting to the Supreme Government the
occupation of the island. Raffles gave a mas-
terly summary of its features and advantages.
" Our station at Singapore," he wrote, " may be
considered as an effectual check to the rapid
march of the Dutch in the Eastern Archi-
pelago, and vi^hether we may have the power
hereafter of extending our stations or be com-
pelled to confine ourselves to this factory, the
spell is broken, and pne independent port under
our flag may be sufficient to prevent the recur-
rence of the system of exclusive monopoly
which the Dutch once exercised in these seas
and would willingly re-establish. Situated at
the extremity of th? peninsula, all vessels to
and from China vifi Malacca are obliged to
pass within five miles of our headquarters, and
generally pass within half a mile of St. John's,
a dependent islet forming the western point of
the bay, in which I have directed a small post
to be fixed, and from whence every ship can

be boarded if necessary, the water being
smooth at all seasons. The run between
these islands and the Carimons, which are in
sight from it, can be effected in a few hours,
and crosses the route which all vessels from
the Netherlands must necessarily pursue when
bound towards Batavia and the Eastern islands.

" As a port for the refreshment and refitment
of our shipping, and particularly for that por-
tion of it engaged in the China trade, it is only
requisite for me to refer to the able survey and
report of Captain Ross, and to add to it that
excellent water in convenient situations for the
supply of ships is to be found in several places,
and that the industrious Chinese are already
established in the interior and may soon be
expected to supply vegetables, &c., &c., equal
to the demand. The port is plentifully sup-
plied with fish and turtle, which are said to
be more abundant here than in any part of the
archipelago. Rice, salt, and other necessaries
are always procurable from Siam, the granary
of the Malay tribes in this quarter. Timber
abounds in the island and its vicinity ; a large
part of the population are already engaged in
building boats and vessels, and the Chinese,
of whom some are already engaged in smelting
the ore brought from the tin mines on the
neighbouring islands, and others employed as
cultivators and artificers, may soon be expected
to increase in a number proportionate to the
wants and interests of the settlement. . .

" A measure of the nature of that which we
have adopted was in some degree necessary to
evince to the varied and enterprising popula-

THE JOHORE RIVER.
(From "Skizzen aiis Singapur und Djohor.")

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

27

tion of these islands that our commercial and
political views in this quarter had not entirely
sunk under the vaunted power and encroach-
ment of the Dutch, and to prove to them that we
were determined to make a stand against it. By
maintaining our right to a free commerce with
the Malay States and inspiring them with a
confidence in the stability of it, we may con-
template its advancement to a much greater
extent than has hitherto been enjoyed. Inde-
pendently of our commerce with the tribes of
the archipelago, Singapore may be considered
as the principal entrepot to which the native
traders of Siam, Cambodia, Champa, Cochin
China, and China will annually resort. It is
to the Straits that their merchants are always
bound in the first instance, and if on their
arrival they can find a market for their goods
and the means of supplying their wants, they
will have no possible inducement to proceed to
the more distant, unhealthy, and expensive port
of Batavia. Siam, which is the granary of the
countries north of the Equator, is rapidly ex-
tending her native commerce, nearly the whole
of which may be expected to centre at Singa-
pore. The passage from China has been made
in less than six days, and that number is all
that is requisite in the favourable monsoon for
the passage from Singapore to Batavia, Pinang,
or Achin, while two days are sufficient for a
voyage to Borneo." '

Singapore at the time of the British occupa-
tion was a mere squalid fishing village, backed
by a wi-ld, uninhabited country, the haunt of
the tiger and other beasts of prey. But it was
a place with a history. Six centuries before it
had been the Constantinople of these Eastern
seas, the seat of Malay learning and commerce,
the focus of the commerce of two oceans and
of part Of two continents. In the section of the
work treating of the Federated Malay States a
lengthy sketch is given of the rise of the Malay
power, and it is only necessary here to deal very
briefly with the subject. The most widely ac-
cepted version of the foundation of Singapore is
that contained in the " Sejara Malayu," or " Malay
Annals," a famous work produced at Goa in the
early seventeenth century from a Malay manu-
script The story here set forth brings into
prominence a line of Malay kings whose an-
cestry is traced back by the record to Alexander
the Great. The first of the line, Raja Bachi-
tram Shah (afterwards known as Sang Sapurba),
settled originally in Palembang, Sumatra, where
he married a daughter of the local prince. He
had a son, Sang Nila Utama, who was domi-
ciled in Bentan, and who, like his father,
formed a connection by marriage with the
reigning dynasty. Finding Bentan too cir-
cumscribed for his energies, Sang Nila, in
1160, crossed the channel to Singapore and
laid the foundations of what subsequently
became known as the Lion City. Concerning
this name Sir Frank Swettenham, the historian
of the Malays, writes i " Singa is Sanscrit for a
lion and Pura for a city, and the fact that there
are no lions in that neighbourhood now cannot
disprove the statement that Sang Nila Utama
saw in 1160, or thereabouts, an animal which
he called by that name — an animal more par-
ticularly described by the annalist as very
' swift and beautiful, its body bright red, its
I " Straits Settlements Records," No. 182.

head jet black, its breast white, in size rather
larger than a he-goat.' That was the lion of
Singapura, and whatever else is doubtful the
name is a fact-; it remains to this day, and
there is no reason why the descendant of
Alexander should not have seen something
which suggested a creature unknown either
to the Malay forest or the Malay language.
It is even stated, on the same authority, that
Singapura had an earlier name, Tamasak,
which is explained by some to mean ' a place
of festivals.' But that word, so interpreted, is
not Malay, though it has been adopted and
applied to other places which suggest festivals
far less than this small tropical island may
have done, even so early as the year 1160. It
is obvious that the name Singapura was not
given to the island hy Malays, but by colonists
from India, and if there were an earlier name,
Tamasak or Tamasha, that also would be of
Indian origin. The fact proves that the name
Singapura dates from a very early period, and
strongly supports the theory that the Malays
of our time are connected with a people who
emigrated from Southern India to Sumatra and
Java, and thence found their way to the Malay
Peninsula." '

Under Sang Nila's rule Singapore grew and
flourished, and when he died, in 1208, he left
it a place of considerable importance. His
successors strengthened its position until it
attained to a degree of prestige and im-
portance without parallel in the history of
any port in these seas. Its prosperity appears
to have been its ruin, for it attracted the jealous
notice of a Javanese prince, the Raja of Maja-
pahit, and that individual formed a design to
conquer the city. He was beaten off on the
first attempt, but a second expedition de-
spatched in 1377 achieved its object through
the treachery of a high official. The inhabi-
tants were put to the sword by the conquerors,
and those of them who managed to escape
ultimately settled in Malacca, where they
founded a new city. After this Singapore
declined in power, until it finally flickered out
in the racial feuds which preceded the early
European conquests.

Raffles remained only a short time at Singa-
pore after the occupation. His mission to
Achin, which was associated with the suc-
cession to the throne, brooked no delay.
Moreover, he doubtless felt that, as far as
the local situation was concerned, he was
quite safe in leaving British interests in the
capable hands of Major Farquhar. That Raffles
appreciated to the fullest extent the value of
the new settlement he had established is shown
by his correspondence at this period. In a
letter to the Duchess of Somerset from Pinang,
whither he had returned to take up the threads
of his new mission, he wrote under date Feb-
ruary 22, 1819, describing the position of
Singapore. "This," he said, "is the ancient
maritime capital of the Malays, and within the
walls of these fortifications, raised not less than
six centuries ago, I have planted the British
flag, where, I trust, it will long triumphantly
wave." On June loth, when he had returned
to Singapore after the completion of his work
in Achin, he wrote to Colonel Addenbroke, the

^ " British Malava," "by Sir Frank Swettenham,
p. 13.

equerry to Princess Charlotte, explaining in a
communication of considerable length the poli-
tical aspects of the occupation. " You will,"
he said, "probably have to consult the map
in order to ascertain from what part of the
world this letter is dated. I shall say nothing
of the importance which I attach to the per-
manence of the position I have taken up at
Singapore ; it is a child of my own. But for
my Malay studies I should hardly have known
that such a place existed ; not only the Euro-
pean but the Indian world was ignorant of it.
I am sure you will wish me success ; and I will
therefore only add that if my plans are con-
firmed at home, it is my intention to make this
my principal residence, and to devote the re-
maining years of my stay in the East to the
advancement of a colony which, in every way
in which it can be viewed, bids fair to be one
of the most important, and at the same time
one of the least troublesome and expensive,
which we possess. Our object is not territory,
but trade ; a great commercial emporium and
a fulcrum whence we may extend our influence
politically as circumstances may hereafter re-
quire. By taking immediate possession we
put a negative to the Dutch claim of exclusion,
and at the same time revive the drooping con-
fidence of our allies and friends. One free
port in these seas must eventually destroy the
spell of Dutch monopoly, and what Malta is
in the West, that may Singapore be in the
East."-"

These and other letters we have quoted,
interesting in themselves as reflections of the
mind of Raffles at this eventful period, are of
special value from the light they throw on the
controversy which from time to time has
arisen as to Raffles's title to be regarded as the
founder of Singapore. From beginning to end
there is no sort of suggestion that the scheme,
as finally carried out, was not Raffles's own.
On the contrary, there is direct evidence that
he acted independently, first in the statement
of Lady Raffles that the plan was in his mind
before he left England, and, second, in his
letter to Marsden from off the Sandheads, in
which he specifically indicates Singapore as
the possible goal of his mission.

Sir Frank Swettenham very fairly states the
case in favour of Raffles in the chapter in his
work= in which he deals with the early history
of Singapore. " It is more than probable," he
says, " that Raffles, by good luck and without
assistance from others, selected Singapore as
the site of his avowedly anti-Dutch pro-British
station. The idea of such a port was Raffles's
own ; for it is probable that his instructions
were drafted on information supplied by him-
self, and in that case it is noticeable that Rhio
and Johore are indicated as likely places and
not Singapore ; he went south with the express
object of carrying out his favourite scheme
before his masters would have time to change
their minds, or his rivals to anticipate his de-
sign. Colonel Farquhar wasonlj' there to help
his senior, and it is certain that if there had
been no Raffles in 1819 there would have been
no British Singapore to-day."

The actual occupation of Singapore was only
the beginning of Raffles's work. Obvious as

I " Memoir of Sir T. S. Raffles," p. 3S0.
= " British Malaya," p. 70.

28

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

the advantages of the situation were to those
who knew the Straits, and palpable as was the
necessity of strengthening British influence in
these seas if it was not entirely to be wiped
out, there continued a resolute opposition to
the scheme on the part of the Pinang autho-
rities. The hostility of these narrow-minded
bureaucrats went to lengths which seem per-
fectly incredible in these days. Immediately
on receipt of the news of the occupation, on
f'ebruary 14, .1819, Bannerman sat down and
indited a minute which, with perfect frankness,
revealed the jealous sentiments which animated
the writer. He wrote: "The time is now
come for throwing aside all false delicacy in
the consideration of Sir Stamford Raffles's
views and measures. I have long believed
that there was a good deal of personal ambition
and desire of distinction in his proceeding to
the eastward and forming a settlement — at any
rate, to add to his old, worn-out establishment
at Bencoolen (so styled by himself in a letter to
the Court of Directors dated 12th of April last).
He has now obtained an island, which he is
most anxious to aggrandise as soon as possible
at the expense of his neighbours, and with as
large a regular force as that stationed at Fort
Marlborough. I have no doubt he has already
determined to come and make Singapore the
seat of his government, and Bencoolen its
dependency.

" I shall now only add that before the ex-
piration of many months I feel convinced the
merchants at Calcutta will learn that this new
settlement may intercept the trade of this port,
but can never restore the commerce they
formerly enjoyed with the Eastern Archipelago,
as the occupation by the Dutch of Java, Banca,
the Moluccas, Rhio, the greater part of the
Celebes, and of Borneo must enable that
Power to engross the principal share." ' The
petty spite of this diatribe is only exceeded by
the colossal self-complacency and shortsighted-
ness which it displays. And its tone was
thoroughly in keeping with the dealings of the
Pinang Government with the infant settlement.
After Raffles had left Singapore to prosecute
his mission to Achin, information was brought
to the new settlement by Captain Ross, the
officer who made the preliminary survey of
Singapore, that the Dutch Governor of Malacca
had strongly recommended the Government of
Java to send up a force to seize the British de-
tachment at Singapore. As in duty bound,
Farquhar communicated the news to Colonel
Bannerman, with a request for reinforcements
to enable him to maintain his post in the event
of attack. Colonel Bannerman's reply was a
violently worded despatch refusing the aid
asked.

" It must be notorious," he wrote in a minute
he penned on the subject, " that any force we
are able to detach to Singapoor could not resist
the overpowering armament at the disposal of
the Batavia Government, although its presence
would certainly compel Major Farquhar to
resist the Netherlanders, even to the shedding
of blood, and its ultimate and forced submission
would tarnish the national honour infinitely
more seriously than the degradation which
would ensue from the retreat of the small party
now at Singapoor.

' " Straits Settlements Records," No. 1S2A.

"Neither Major Farquhar's honour as a
soldier nor the honour of the British Govern-
ment now require him to attempt the defence
of Singapoor by force of arms against the
Netherlanders, as he knows Sir Stamford
Raffles has occupied that island in violation
of the orders of the Supreme Government,
and as he knows that any opposition from his
present small party would be an useless and
reprehensible sacrifice of men, when made
against the overwhelming naval and military
force that the Dutch will employ. Under these
circumstances I am certain that Major Farquhar
must be certain that he would not be justified
in shedding blood in the maintenance of his
port at present."

Colonel Bannerman went on to state that he
therefore proposed to send by the despatch
prahu to Major Farquhar a letter in this tenor,
together with other papers, and at the same time
to forward a temperate and firm remonstrance
to the Dutch Governor of Malacca, by means
of which he hoped any violent projected
measures would be deprecated without affect-
ing in the slightest degree the national honour
and credit. He also proposed that, as no
other opportunity would probably occur for
several weeks, a transport should be sent
to Singapore with a further supply of six
thousand dollars. " This last I am, however,
surprised to learn that he should require so
soon, for his small detachment has not been
forty days at Singapore before it appears to
have expended so large a sum as 15,000 dollars
which was taken with it."

The minute proceeded : " In proposing to
send this transport to Major Farquhar I have
another object in view. I have just had reason
to believe that the Gauges and Ncarchiis (the
only two vessels now at Singapore) are quite
incapable of receiving on board the whole of
the detachment there in the event of Major
Farquhar's judgment deciding that a retreat
from the port would be most advisable. If,
therefore, one of the transports is victualled
equal to one month's consumption for 250 men
and sent to Singapore with authority given to
Major Farquhar to employ her should her
services be requisite, that officer will then have
ample means for removing, whenever indis-
pensably necessary, not only all his party, but
such of the native inhabitants as may fear the
Dutch vengeance, and whom it would be most
cruel to desert."

The minute went on to say that the transport
would be a means of withdrawing the Singa-
pore garrison in a British ship and saving the
national character from a very great portion of
the disgrace and mortification of having Major
Farquhar embarked by the Dutch on their own
ships.

Colonel Bannerman concluded as follows :
" However invidious the task, I cannot close
this minute without pointing out to the notice
of our superiors the very extraordinary conduct
of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen. He
posts a detachment at Singapoor under very
equivocal circumstances, without even the
means of coming away, and with such de-
fective instructions and slender resources that,
before it has been there a month, its com-
mander is obliged to apply for money to this
Government, whose dutv it becomes to offer

that officer advice and means against an event
which Sir Stamford Raffles ought to have ex-
pected, and for which he ought to have made
an express provision in his instructions to that
officer.

" My letters of the isth and 17th February
will prove that upon his return from Singapore
I offered him any supplies he might require
for the detachment he had left there, and also
earnestly called upon him to transmit instruc-
tions to Major Farquhar for the guidance of his
conduct in the possible event of the Nether-
landers attempting to dislodge him by force of
arms. Did he avail himself of my offer ?
No, he set off for Achin and left Major Farquhar
to shift for himself. In fact, he acted (as a
friend of mine emphatically observed) like a
man who sets a house on fire and then runs
away." This extraordinary effusion reveals the
animus and stupidity with which Raffles was
pursued in the prosecution of his great design.
But it does not stand alone. While Bannerman
was doing his best to destroy RafHes's work by
withholding much-needed support from the
tiny force planted at Singapore, he was inditing
highly-coloured despatches to the authorities in
Calcutta and at home on the mischievousneSs
of the policy that had been embarked upon.
In one of these communications despatched to
the Court of Directors on March 4, 1819, shortly
after the news of the occupation had been
received at Pinang, the irate official wrote :
" My honourable employers will observe that
the Governor-General in Council was pleased
to grant the Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen
a special commission to visit this presidency to
execute important duties belonging to this
Government, and already recommended by me
under the most favourable auspices, and to
make me the instrument of assisting that
gentleman to aggrandise his own name and
settlement at the expense of the character,
dignity, and local influence of this Govern-
ment." To Calcutta Bannerman addressed
despatches condemning in unsparing terms
the action that had been taken, and confidently
looking for support in the line of policy he had
pursued in opposition to Raffles. There was at
the outset a disposition on the part of the
Supreme Government to think that in despatch-
ing Raffles on his mission they had been
precipitate. Influenced by the news of Dutch
aggressiveness, and impressed also probably
by Bannerman's gloomy vaticinations upon
the situation, they addressed a letter to Pinang
expressing the view that it might be desirable
to relinquish the mission. But their hesitation
was only temporary. With the receipt of
Raffles's own communications there was borne
in upon them the importance of upholding his
action. Then the storm broke upon Colonel
Bannerman for the part he had played in
obstructing the mission. In a despatch dated
April 8, 1819, the Governor-General poured
upon the unfortunate Governor a volume of
censure such as has rarely been meted out to a
high official. " With regard to the station
established at Singapore," said the Governor-
General, " though we are not prepared to
express any final opinion upon the determina-
tion adopted by Sir Stamford Raffles to occupy
that harbour, we cannot think it was within
the province of your Government to pronounce

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

29

a decisive opinion upon a violation of his in-
structions. Commissioned and entrusted by
this Government, to this Government alone he
was answerable. The instructions under which
he acted, and which were communicated to
your Government that you might the more
readily promote the object, were adapted to
the port of Rhio chiefly, and the probability
that the Dutch might anticipate us there
rendered it necessary to prescribe a line which
was in that contingency to be followed with
the utmost exactness. The same principle was
in the subsequent instructions extended to
Johore. In both cases the injunctions referred
to the possible event of an apparent right
having been actually advanced by the Dutch.
But though the spirit of inculcation to avoid
collision with the Dutch applied itself to any
other position, it necessarily did so with a
latitude suited to circumstances.

" We think your Government entirely wrong
in determining so broadly against the propriety
of the step taken by Sir Stamford Raffles on
a simple reclamation from the Governor of
Malacca, which, whether well or ill, founded,
was to be looked for as certain. . . .

" Under these circumstances it does not
appear to us that any doubts which may be
excited at the present stage of the business
could be a legitimate principle for your
guidance, so as to exonerate you from the
obligation of fulfilling our directions for your
supporting Sir Stamford Raffles with a moderate
force should he establish a station on the
Eastern sea. So far do we regard you from
being freed fronl the call to act upon our instruc-
tions, that we fear you would have difficulty
in excusing yourselves should the Dutch be
tempted to violence by the weakness of the
detachment at Singapore and succeed in dis-
lodging it. Fortunately there does not appear
the likelihood of such an extremity. Repre-
sentations will be made to this Government,
and investigations must be set on foot ; in
the interval which these will occupy, we have
to request from your Government every aid to
the factory at Singapore. The jealousy of it
which we lament to have been avowed and
recorded would find no tolerance with the
British Government should misfortune occur
and be traceable to neglects originating in such
a feeling. Whether the measure of occupying
it should ultimately be judged to have been
indiscreetly risked or otherwise, the procedure
must be upheld, unless we shall be satisfied
(which is not now the case) that perseverance
in maintaining the port would be an infraction
of equity."

In a private letter, of somewhat earlier date,
the Governor-General explained at some length
the principles which had guided him in entrust-
ing the mission to Raffles. He wrote : " It is
impossible to form rational directions for the
guidance of any mission without allowing a
degree of discretion to be exercised in con-
tingencies which, though foreseen, cannot be
exactly measured, but the particular principle
by which Sir Stamford Raffles was to be ruled
was so broadly and positively marked as to
admit no excuse for proceedings inconsistent
with its tenor. For that reason I have to infer
the unlikelihood of his hazarding anything
contrary to our wishes. .

" We never meant to show such obsequious-
ness to the Dutch as to forbear securing those
interests of ours which tljey had insidiously
and basely assailed out of deference to the
title which they were disposed to advance of
supremacy over every island and coast of the
Eastern Archipelago. It was to defeat that
profligate speculation that we commissioned
Sir Stamford Raffles to aim at obtaining some
station which would prevent the entire com-
mand of the Straits of Malacca from falling
into the hands of the Dutch, there being many
unpossessed by them and not standing within
any hitherto asserted pretensions."

Bannerman replied to this letter in a " hurried
note," in which he said that he bowed with
deference to his lordship's views. " I have,"
he went on, "received a lesson which shall
teach me how I again presume to offer opinions
as long as I live." He trusted his lordship
would perceive from their despatch in reply
" that our respect and attachment have in no
degree abated, and that though we have not
the elation of success we still do not possess
the suUenness of discomfiture." The despatch
referred to (dated May i8, 1819), entered at
lenglh into the controversy, extenuating the
course that the Pinang authorities had taken,
and asking that if Singapore was retained it
should be placed under the Pinang Govern-
ment. The despatch concluded :

" I am sorry, my lord, to have trespassed so
long on your time, but 1 have a whole life of
character to defend, and in this vindication I
hope I have not borne harder than what is
necessary upon Sir S. Raffles and others. I
have taken particular care to have here no
personal controversy or cause of personal dis-
pute with that gentleman. On the contrary he
and his amiable lady have received from me
since their first arrival from Calcutta every
personal civility and attention which your
Excellency had desired me to show them in
your lordship's private communication of the
29th of November, and which my public situa-
tion here rendered it incumbent on me to offer.
Illiberal or malicious revenge, I thank God,
my heart knows not, and has never known.
The revenge which may be apparent in this
address is only such as justice imperiously
required and morality sanctioned. Its only
objects were to procure reparation for the
injury I have sustained, and to promote the
just ends of punishment." »

Just prior to the receipt of the final crushing
despatch from the Governor-General, Colonel
Bannerman had forwarded to the Court of
Directors at home a long communication, in
which he marshalled, not without skill, the
familiar arguments against the occupation of
Singapore. He concluded with this passage :
" It will now remain for the Honourable Court
to decide whether the occupation of Singapore
by Sir Stamford Raffles is an equivalent for the
certain ill-will it has excited against us from
the Dutch authorities in India, for the enormous
expense it has saddled on the India Company,
and for the probable disaster it has entailed on
all the negotiations contemplated between the
two Courts in Europe." This communication
was written on the 24th of June. A week later
another letter was forwarded. It was couched
"Straits Settlements Records," No. 182A.

in terms indicative of the heaviness of the
blow which had fallen upon the old soldier-
administrator. Bannerman wrote : " We now
beg leave to submit to your Honourable Court
the letter which we have received from the
Most Noble the Governor-General in Council
in reply to all our despatches and references
on the subject of the Achin mission and Sir
Stamford Raffles's Eastern mission, and we feel
the most poignant sorrow in acquainting your
Honourable Court that this despatch conveys
to us sentiments of reproof and animadversion
from that exalted authority instead of approval
and commendation, which we confess to have
expected with the fullest confidence.

" We had as full a knowledge of the in-
structions of the Supreme Government on
these matters as Sir S. Raffles himself had, unless
(which our duty will not allow us to believe)
Sir S. Raffles had actually, as he always stated
to our President, other verbal orders from the
Governor-General which appeared diametri-
cally opposite to the spirit and letter of his
written instructions, and we had certainly as
lively and a more immediate interest from
proximity to uphold the welfare and advantage
of the public interest in this quarter."

The despatch proceeded to state that the
Governor and his Council offered " such ah
explanation as a sense of duty and a regard
for our personal honour and reputation point
out to us " ; and then added that if their remarks
had the effect of averting from that Govern-
ment the accusation of its being actuated by
jealousy or other motives of an invidious nature
they would be fully satisfied. Then followed
this parting shot at the occupation :

" Relative to the new establishment of Singa-
pore, your Honourable Court will now be
enabled to judge whether the violent measure
of occupying such in defiance of the Dutch
claims will eventually prove more beneficial to
your or the national interests in the Eastern
Archipelago than would have been effected by
the adoption of the mild, conciliating, and, we
may say, economical policy recommended so
strenuously by this Government in pursuance
of the original views of the Governor-General.
The commercial advantages of Singapore,
whilst the Dutch hold the places of growth and
manufacture of the great staples of the Eastern
Archipelago, appear to us more than proble-
matical. Your Honourable Court may recollect
that the first occupation of this island gave rise
to similar extravagant prognostications of great
commercial benefits, so little of which have ever
been realised, although it has cost the India
Company a debt of nearly four million sterling
in enlarging and improving its capacity. . . .
On the other hand, the political advantages of
Singapore in time of war appear to us still
less, and by no means necessary whilst in
possession of such immense resources in India,
which we can always bring in less than a
month after the declaration of war against any
settlements that the Dutch may form in these
Straits."

Colonel Bannerman was not content to rely
on the despatches for his justification. Accom-
panying them he sent letters to the Chairman
and Deputy-Chairman of the Court, in which
he said that he hoped and trusted that all his
proceedings in respect to Singapore "will bear

30

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

mc out in the declaration which I now solemnly
and on my honour and conscience utter, that
the interests and only the interests of my
honourable employers have influenced and
directed the whole of my conduct, and that I
had on the occasion no other personal interest
excepting a very strong one not to do what I
considered my duty from the view of the very
event which has now happened — the possibility
of my opposition to Sir Stamford Raffles being
imputed to so base and ignoble a motive as
petty jealousy." The Court of Directors proved
scarcely more sympathetic than the Supreme
Government had shown themselves. They re-
plied in a despatch in which, while conceding
that Bannerman had been actuated by a sense
of duty, they expressed regret that he had been
betrayed by the warmth of discussion into an
imputation upon Sir Stamford Raffles's motives
" totally irreconcilable with every principle of
public duty." The unfortunate Governor was
saved this final stinging rebuke. Before the
despatch reached Pinang — before, indeed, it
was written — he had gone to his last account.
Worn out with worry and depressed by the
mortification of defeat, he died on August i,
1819. He was in some respects an excellent
administrator, but he lacked conspicuously the
qualities of foresight and force of character
necessary in such a situation as that in which he
found himself in the closing days of his career.
His treatment of Sir Stamford Raffles and his
general handling of the crisis precipitated by
the aggressive polic>' of the Dutch will always
remain a monumental example of official in-
capacity.

While the authorities at home were not
disposed to back up Colonel Bannerman, they
were little inclined to support Sir Stamford
Raffles. When news of the occupation reached
London, the Secret Committee of the East
India Company, who had previously written
to Lord Hastings disapproving of the mission,
wrote a violently worded despatch in which
they declared that " any difficulty with the
Dutch will be created by Sir Stamford Raffles's
intemperance of conduct and language." They
graciously intimated, however, that they would
await the further explanations of Lord Hastings
" before retaining or relinquishing Sir Stamford
Raffles's acquisition at Singapore."

Downing Street joined with Leadenhall
Street in angry pronouncements upon what
both regarded as an ill-advised and ill-timed
display of excessive zeal on the part of a
reckless subordinate. A premonition of the
storm must have been borne in upon Raffles,
for at the very earliest stage of the occupation
he took measures to explain the importance of
Singapore to influential personages at home
who would be able to raise their voices with
effect in the event of any retrograde policy
being favoured. To Marsden he wrote at
regular intervals with the express object, we
may assume, of enlisting his powerful support.
On January 31, 1819, the day of the signature
of the treaty with the Dalo' Tcmenggong,
Raffles addressed the following to his friend :

"This place possesses an excellent harbour
and everything that can be desired for a British
port, and the island of St. John's, which forms
the SW. point of the harbour. W'c have com-
manded an intercourse with all the ships

passing through the Straits of Singapore. We
are within a week's sail of China, close to
Siam and in the very seat of the Malayan
Empire. This, therefore, will probably be my
last attempt. If I am deserted now I must
fain return to Bencoolen and become philo-
sopher."

Writing later, on February 19th, Raffles
says :

" In short, Singapore is everything we could
desire, and I ma\' consider myself most for-
tunate in the selection ; it will soon rise into
importance, and with this single station alone I
would undertake to counteract all the plans of
Mynheer ; it breaks the spell, and they are no
longer the exclusive sovereigns of Eastern
seas."

Again, under date June 15, 1819, Raffles
writes :

" I am happy to inform you that everything
is going on well here ; it bids fair to be the
next port to Calcutta ; all we want now is the
certainty of permanent possession, and this, of
course, depends on authorities beyond our
control. You may take my word for it this is
by far the most important station in the East,
and as far as naval superiority and commercial
interests are concerned, of much higher value
than whole continents of territory."

Raffles's unwavering confidence in the future
of Singapore, expressed so trenchantly in these
letters, convinced his friends at home of the
value of the acquisition he had made ; but his
enemies and rivals were persistent, and for a
long time the fate of the settlement hung in
the balance. Echoes of the discussions from
time to time reached Raffles in the Straits, and
he was naturally affected by them. More in
sorrow than in anger we find him writing on
July 17, 1820 : " I learn with much regret the
prejudice and the malignity by which I am
attacked at home for the desperate struggle I
have maintained against the Dutch. Instead of
being supported by my own Government, I
find them deserting me and giving way in
every instance to the unscrupulous and enor-
mous assertions of the Dutch. All, however,
is safe so far, and if matters are only allowed
to remain as they are, all will go well. The
great blow has been struck, and, though I may
personally suffer in the scuffle, the nation must
be benefited. Were the value of Singapore
properly appreciated, I am confident that all
England would be in its favour. It positively
takes nothing from the Dutch, and is to us
everything ; it gives us the command of China
and Japan, vui Siam and Cambodia, Cochin
China, &c., to say nothing of the islands them-
selves. . . Let the commercial interests for
the present drop every idea of a direct trade to
China, and let them concentrate their influence
in supporting Singapore, and they will do ten
times better. As a free port it is as much to
them as the possession of Macao ; and it is here
their voyages should finish. . . . Singapore
may as a free port thus become tlie connecting
link and grand ciihifol between Europe, Asia,
and China ; it is, in fact, fast becoming so,"

Again, writing on July 22, 1820, Raffles further
alludes to the talk of abandonment. "It appears
to me impossible that Singapore should be
given up, and yet the indecisive manner in
which the Ministers express themselves, .and

the unjust and harsh terms they use towards
me, render it doubtful what course they will
adopt."

Happily his confidence in the convincing
strength of the arguments for retention was
justified. The Marquess of Hastings, after his
first lapse into timidity, firmly asserted the
British claim to maintain the occupation. In
replying to a despatch from Baron 'Vander
Capellan, Governor-General of Netherlands
India, protesting against the British action,
his lordship maintained that the chiefs who
ceded Singapore were perfectly independent
chiefs, fully competent to make arrangements
with respect to Singapore. He intimated,
however, that if it should prove on fuller
information that the Netherlands Government
possessed a right to the exclusive occupation
of Singapore, the Government would, " without
hesitation, obey the dictates of justice by with-
drawing all our establishments from the place."
Some time later, in July, 1819, the Marquess of
Hastings addressed another despatch, in which
he outlined at some length the views of the
Supreme Government of India in reference to
the Dutch claims. He affirmed that a manifest
necessity existed for counteracting the Dutch
exertions to secure absolute supremacy in the
Eastern seas ; that the views of the British
Government had always been confined to the
security of British commerce ancl the freedom
of other nations ; that it was held that the
Dutch had no just claim founded on engage-
ments which might have been made with the
native princes before the transfer of Malacca
in 1795 ; that their only right depended on
the treaty concluded at Riau on November 26,
1818, but which was subsequent to the one
entered into by Major Farquhar on the part
of the British Government with the Govern-
ment of Riau as an independent State in the
August preceding ; that under this view the
Dutch had adopted the most injurious and
extraordinary proceeding of making a treaty
declaring that of the British to be null and
void ; and that the Dutch authorities who
transferred Malacca in 1795 had declared that
Riau, Johore, Pahang and Lingen, through the
first of which the Dutch claimed Singapore,
were not dependencies of Malacca. In a
further despatch, dated August 21, 1819,
Hastings closed the controversy, as far as his
Government was concerned, by reaffirming
the untenability of the Dutch claims and
declaring that the sole object Of the British
Government was to protect its own interests
against what had appeared an alarming in-
dication of pretensions to supremacy and
monopoly on the part of the Netherlandish
authorities in seas hitherto free to all parties.
The dispute continued to rage in Europe for
some time after this, the Dutch pressing their
claims with characteristic tenacity upon the
attention of the British Government. Indeed,
it was not until 1824, when a general settle-
ment was arrived at between the two Govern-
ments, that the final word was said on the
subject of Singapore. The advocacy of power-
ful friends whose aid Raffles was able to
invoke unquestionably had considerable in-
fluence in securing the ultimate verdict in
favour of retention. But the concession was
grudgingly made, and Raffles was left to reap

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF liRITISH MAI.AYA

31

the reward of his prescient statesmanship in
the linowledge that he had won for his country
this great strategical centre in the Eastern sea.
It is a chapter in British colonial history
which redounds little to the credit of either
the British official world or the British people.
Their sole excuse is that they were ignorant
and acted ignorantly. The age was one in
which scant thought was given to question-,
of world policy, which now are of recognised
importance. Moreover, long years of war, in
which the country had been reduced to the
point of exhaustion, had left people little in
the mood to accept new responsibilities which
carried with lliem (he possibility of inter-
national strife. Still, when every allowance
is made for the circumstances of the time, it
must be conceded that the treatment of Raffles
at this period, and the subsequent neglect of
his memory, have left an indelible stain upon
the reputation of his countrymen for generosity.

CHAPTER II.

The Buildin'g of the City.

Viewing the Singapore of to-day, with its
streets thronged with a cosmopolitan crowd
drawn from every quarter of the globe, its
bustling wharves instinct with a vigorous com-
mercial life, and its noble harbour, in which
float every kind of craft, from the leviathan
liner of 10,000 tons to the tiny Malay fishing
boat, it is difficult to realise that less than a
century ago the place was nothing more than
a small Malay settlement, in which a mere
handful of natives eked out a precarious exis-
tence by fishing, with an occasional piratical
raid on the adjoining coasts. Yet if there is
one fact more conclusive than another in the
history of this great port, it is that it is a pure
product of British foresight, energy, and com-
mercial aptitude. Discovering an incomparable
position, the Empire builders, represented by
Raffles and his lieutenants and successors,
dug deep and wide the foundations of the
city, and the genius and enterprise of British
merchants did the rest. Sometimes it has
happened that a great colonial city has attained
to eminence through accidental causes, as, for
example, in the cases of Kimberley and
Johannesburg. But Singapore owes nothing
of its greatness to adventitious aids. As we
have seen in the extracts cited from Raflles's
letters, its ultimate position of importance in the
Empire was accurately forecasted ; before one
stone had been laid upon another the founders
knew that they were designing what would
be no "mean city" — a commercial entrepot
which would vie with the greatest in the
East.

From the practical point of view there were
many advantages in the situation which RafHes
found when he occupied Singapore. Rights
of property there were none outside the
interests of the overlord, which were readily
satisfied by the monetary allowance provided
for under the treaties with the Sultan and the
Temenggong. There was no large resident
population to cause trouble and friction, and

there were no local laws to conllict with
British juridical principles. In fine. Rallies
and his associates had a clL'an slate on which
to draw at their fancy the lines of the settle-
ment. They drew with perspicacity and a
courageous faith in the future. We catch
occasional glimpses of the life of the infant
settlement as reflected in the oflicial literature
of the period or in the meagre columns of the
Pinang newspaper. In the very earliest days
of the occupation an incoming ship from China
reports, we may imagine with a sharp note of
interrogation, the presence of four ships in the
roadstead at Singapore and of tents on the
shore. The Stores Department is indented
on for building materials, food supplies, and
for munitions of war, including a battery of
i8-pounder guns, with a hundred rounds of
ammunition per gun. Invalids from the island
arrive, and are drafted to the local hospital
for treatment. Then comes crowning evidence
that the settlement is really growing and
thriving in this interesting domestic announce-
ment in the C(5lumns of the Prince of Wales
Island Gazette of August 7, 1819. " Sincapore
birth. — On the 25th of July, Mrs. Barnard of a
daughter. This is the first birth at the new
settlement."

The first official step in the creation of the
new Singapore was the issue on February 6,
1819, by Sir Stamford Raffles, of a proclamation
announcing the, conclusion of the treaty which
made the place a British settlement. Simulta-
neously Rallies addressed to Colonel Farquhar
(as he had now become) a letter instructing
him as to the course he was to pursue in all
matters aflecting the settlement. By this
time the general lines of the new town had
been provisionally settled. The site of the
settlement was fixed on the identical spot
which Raffles beHeved, from the perusal of
Malayan history, was occupied by the old city.
Beyond the erection of a few temporary
buildings and the tracing of one or two
necessary roads, little seems to have been done
during the first few months of the occupation,
probably because of the uncertainty in which
the future of the place was enshrouded in
consequence of the political complications.
But on Raffles's return to Singapore on the
completion of his mission to Achin, he devoted
himself in earnest to the task of devising
arrangements for the administration of the
important port which his instinct told him
would spring up phoenix-like out of the ashes
of the dead and half-forgotten Malay city.
The plan which he finally evolved is sketched
in an elaborate letter of instructions, dated
June 26, 1819, which he addressed to Farquhar
just prior to his second departure from the
island. The European town, he directed,
should be erected without loss of time. This,
he estimated, should extend along the beach
for a distance of 200 yards from the lines as far
eastward as practicable, and should include as
mucli of the ground that had already been
cleared of the Bugis as was required, the
occupants being reimbursed for the expense
they had been put to in making the clearances,
and given other ground in lieu of the sites first
chosen. He directed that for the time being
the space lying between the new road and the
beach should be reserved for Government,

while the aiea on the opposite side of the road
should be immediately marked out into twelve
separate allotments, with an equal frontage, to
be appropriated to the first ropcclable Euro-
pean applicants. In practice it was found
impossible to adhere to this plan. The mer-
chants were indisposed to build along the
north beach on the space allotted to them,
owing to the inconvenience to shipping
resulting from the low level of the beach.
Farquhar, to relieve the situation, granted
them permission to appropriate the Govern-
ment reserved land on the left bank of the
river, on the understanding that they must be
prepared to mo\e if required to do so. In
October, 1822, when Raflles returned to take
over the Government of the island, he found
that a number of houses had already been
built on the reserved ground. He appointed
a committee consisting of three disinterested
persons — Dr. Wallich of Calcutta, Dr. Lumsdain
and Captain Salmond of Bencoolen— to assist
him in fixing a new ^ite for the town. After
much consideration it was decided to level a
small hill on the south side, on the site of what
is now Commercial Square, and with the earth
from this hill to raisp the land on the south
bank of the river and so create new building
sites. This scheme was ultimately carried out,
and in association with it were executed
arrangements for the expropriation on fair
terms of all who had built with the Resident's
permission on the north bank. A few of the
buildings on this side were allowed to remain
and were subsequently used for public offices.

While the levelling operations for the new
settlement were proceeding the workmen un-
earthed near the mouth of the river a flat stone
bearing an inscription in strange characters. Of
the finding of this relic and its subsequent fate
we have a vivid contemporary description in
a Malay work written by .■Vbdullah, Raflles's old
assistant. Abdullah wrote : " At the time there
was found, at the end of the Point, buried in
jungle, a smooth square-sided stone, about
6 feet long, covered with chiselled characters.
No one could read the characters, for they had
been exposed to the action of the sea-water
for God knows how many thousands of ye.trs.
When the stone was discovered people of every
race went in crowds to see it. The Hindus
said the writing was Hindu, but they could
not read it. The Chinese said it was Chinese.
I went with Sir Stamford Raflles and the Rev.
M. Thompson and others, and to me it seemed
that the letters resembled Arabic letters, but I
could not decipher them owing to the ages
during which the stone had been subject to the
rise and fall of the tides.

" Numbers of clever people came to read the
inscription ; some brought soft dough and took
an impi-ession, while others brought black ink
and smeared it over the stone in order to make
the writing plain. Every one exhausted his
ingenuity in attempts to ascertain the nature
of the characters and the language, but all
without success. So the stone remained
where it lay, with the tide washing it every
day. Then Sir Stamford Raffles decided that
the writing was in the Hindu character,
because the Hindus were the first people to
come to these parts, to Java, Bali, and Siam,
whose people are all descended from Hindus.

32

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

But not a man in Singapore could say what
was the meaning of the words cut on that
stone ; therefore only God knows. And the
stone remained there till Mr. Bonham became
Governor of Singapore, Pinang, and Malacca
(1837-43). At that time Mr. Coleman was the
Government engineer at Singapore, and he,
sad to tell, broke the stone. In my opinion
it was a very improper thing to do, but per-
haps it was due to his stupidity and ignorance
and because he could not understand the
writing that he destroyed the stone. It never
occurred to him that there might be others
more clever than himself who could unravel
the secret ; for I have heard that there are
those in England who are able to read such
a riddle as this with ease, whatever the lan-
guage, whoever the people who wrote it. As
the Malays say, ' What you can't mend, don't
destroy.' "

It is difficult to find a more adequate char-
acterisation of this piece of silly vandalism on
the part of Mr. Coleman than that contained
in Abdullah's scathing criticism. The motives
which prompted the act are difficult to con-
ceive, but whatever they were the secret of
the stone was effectually concealed by the
destructive operations. Some fragments col-
lected subsequently found their way to Calcutta,
to supply the savants there with a knotty
problem to puzzle over, and from time to
time discussion has arisen in Singapore itself
over the historic debris. We are still, how-
ever, as far as ever from discovering the key
to the mystery. Perhaps the most plausible
explanation is that of Lieutenant Begbie, who
writing in 1834, suggested that the stone was
identical with a tablet or tablets mentioned in
the " Malay Annals " and relating to a conflict
between a Singapuri Samson named Badang
and a rival from the Coromandel coast.
Badang won great fame as the victor in the
fight, and when he died he was buried at the
mouth of the Singapore river, and the Coro-
mandel King sent two stones to place over
his grave. The stone unearthed at the build-
ing of the town, it was argued by Lieutenant
Begbie, must have been one of these. The
controversy may be left at this point. It is
really now only of interest to illustrate the
paucity of the antiquarian remains of which
Singapore can boast.

Farquhar's share in the building of the new
settlement was a considerable one. He cleared
the jungle and drove roads in all directions,
always with a keen eye to future possibilities.
Perhaps his finest conception was the esplanade,
which is still one of the most attractive features
of the city. While the work of laying out the
new port was proceeding, merchants, both
European and native, attracted by the news
of the occupation and the promise it brought
of future prosperity, were flocking to the spot,
eager to have a share in the trade which they
rightly calculated was bound to grow up under
the protecting shadow of the British flag.
Farquhar may be left to tell the story of this
early " rush." In a letter to Raffles, dated
March 21, 1820, he wrote : " Nothing can
possibly exceed the rising trade and general
prosperity of this infant colony ; indeed, to
look at our harbour just now, where upwards
of twenty junks, three of which are from China

and two from Cochin China, the rest from
Siam, and other vessels are at anchor, besides
ships, brigs, prows, &c., &c., a person would
naturally exclaim. Surely this cannot be an
establishment of only twenty months' stand-
ing ! One of the principal Chinese merchants
has told me in the course of conversation that
he would be very glad to give 500,000 dollars
for the revenue of Singapore five years hence ;
merchants of all descriptions are collecting
here so fast that nothing is heard in the shape
of complaint but the want of more ground
to build on. The swampy ground on the
opposite side of the river is now almost
covered with Chinese houses, and the Bugis
village is become an extensive town. Settle-
ments are forming up the different rivers,
and from the public roads which have been
made the communication to various parts
of the country is now quite open and con-
venient."

In July of the same year Raffles himself, in a
letter to a friend in England, describes in glow-
ing terms the progress of the work of develop-
ment. "My settlement," he wrote, " continues
to thrive most wonderfully ; it is all and every-
thing I could wish, and if no untimely fate
awaits it, it promises to become the emporium
and pride of the East." Happily no untimely
fate did overtake it. Despite the jealousy and
obstructiveness of Pinang, notwithstanding
the indifference and neglect of the home
authorities and apprehensions born of " a
craven fear of greatness," the progress of the
port was continuous. Two years and a half
after the occupation we find Raffles estimating
that the exports and imports of Singapore by
native boats alone exceeded four millions of
dollars in the year, and that during the whole
period of the brief life of the settlement no
fewer than 2,889 vessels had entered and
cleared from the port, of which 383 were
owned and commanded by Europeans. In
1822 the tonnage had risen to 130,689 tons,
and the total value of the trade to upwards of
eight millions of dollars. Two years later the
annual trade had increased in value to upwards
of thirteen millions of dollars. It would be
difficult to discover in the whole history of
British colonisation, fruitful as it is in instances
of successful development, a more remarkable
example of rapid growth.

No small share of the brilliant success achieved
in the founding of Singapore was unquestion-
ably due to the liberal policy Raffles introduced
from the outset. He foresaw that to attempt
to build up the prosperity of the place on the
exclusive principles of the Dutch, or even on
the modified system of restrictive trade obtain-
ing at our own ports, would be to foredoom the
settlement to failure. The commerce of the
port, to obtain any degree of vigour, he under-
stood, must be absolutely unfettered. Again
and again he insists upon this point in his
correspondence, pleading and fighting for the
principle with all the earnestness of ■ his
strenuous nature. Free the trade was from
the beginning, and though later attempts were
made to tamper with the system, Singapore has
continued to this day in the enjoyment of the
liberal and enlightened constitution with which
Raffles endowed it.

Many stupid things were done by the

authorities in connection with the early his-
tory of Singapore, but it will always remain
to their credit that they entrusted to Raffles
the task of establishing the administrative
machinery there on a permanent footing.
Ordered from Bencoolen to Singapore in
September, 1822, Raffles, with a light heart
and heightened expectations, embarked upon
what was to him a labour of love. His wide
experience in Java and at Bencoolen, aided by
his natural ability, enabled him without diffi-
culty to devise a sound working constitution
for the new colony. Recognising that the
prosperity of the settlement depended upon
adequate facilities for shipping, he caused the
harbour and the adjacent coasts to be carefully
surveyed from Diamond Point to the Karimun
Islands. The sale of land was carefully regu-
lated, with due regard, on the one hand, to
Government interests, and on the other to the
development of trade. For the better safe-
guarding of rights he caused a land registry
to be established — a step which proved of
immense value in the later history of the
colony. A code of regulations designed to
suit the needs of a mixed community of the
class of that already settled in the town was
drawn up, and Raffles himself sat in court to
enforce them. He also established a local
magistracy as a means of strengthening the
administration of the law and creating a sense
of responsibility in the communitj'. As in
Bencoolen he had interested himself in the
moral well-being of those entrusted to his
charge, so here he gave serious consideration
to the problem of training the youths of the
settlement to be good citizens. The outcome
of his deliberations was the framing of a
scheme for the founding of an institution for
the study of Chinese and Malay literature.
Early in 1822 the project assumed a practical
shape in the establishment of the famous
Singapore Institute. It was Raffles's desire
to give further strength to the cause of edu-
cational progress in the colony by the transfer
to Singapore of the Anglo-Chinese College at
Malacca. But his proposals under this head
were thwarted by the action of a colleague
and the idea had reluctantly to be abandoned.
By the beginning of June, 1823, Raffles had
so far advanced the work entrusted to him
that he was able to hand over the charge of
the settlement to Mr, Crawfurd, who had been
appointed to administer it. Somewhat earlier
Raffles is revealed writing to a friend contrasting
the bustle and prosperity of Singapore with the
stagnation and costliness of his old charge.
" At Bencoolen," he wrote, " the public expenses
are more in one month than they are at Singa-
pore in twelve. The capital turned at Bencoolen
never exceeds 400,000 dollars in a year, and
nearly the whole of this is in Company's bills
on Bengal, the only returns that can be made ;
at Singapore the capital turned in a year ex-
ceeds eight millions, without any Government
bills or civil establishment whatever." ■ Further
suggestive facts were given by Raffles in a
letter he wrote to the Supreme Government on
January 15, 1823. In this he stated that the
average annual charge for the settlement for
the first three years of its establishment had
not exceeded 60,000 Spanish dollars. " I had
■ " Memoir of Sir T. S. RafHes," p. 532.

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF IJRITISH MALAYA

33

anticipated," he proceeded, " tlic satisfaction of
constructing all necessary public buildings free
of expense to Government and of delivering
over charge of the settlement at the end of the
present year with an available revenue nearly
equal to its expenses, and it is extremely morti-
fying that the irregularities admitted by the
local Resident oblige me to forego this ar-
rangement." The irregularities alluded to in
this despatch were committed by a local official
employed in connection with the land transfers.
He was a man of indifferent character who
ought never to have been appointed to the
post, and Farquhar's laxity in this and other
respects drew upon him the severe censure of
Raffles. The relations between the two became
exceedingly strained in consequence. Even-
tually Farquhar resigned, and his resignation
was accepted, Mr, Crawfurd, as has been stated,
being appointed as his successor. If the course
of official life at Singapore in these days did
not run smoothly, nothing could have been
more harmonious than Raffles's relations with
the mercantile community. In striking contrast
with the contemptuous indifference displayed
by the Indian bureaucrats who ruled in the
Straits towards the civil community, Raffles
deferred to it in every way compatible with
the Government interests. The principles
which guided him in this particular are lucidly
set forth in a despatch he wrote to the Supreme
Government, dated March 29, 1823. "I am
satisfied," Raffles wrote, " that nothing has
tended more to the discomfort and constant
jarrings which have hitherto occurred in our
remote settlements than the policy which has
dictated the exclusion of the European mer-
chants from all share, much less credit, in the
domestic regulation of the settlement of which
they are frequently its most important mem-
bers." These liberal sentiments supply the key
to Raffles's remarkable success as an adminis-
trator, and they help to an understanding of the
affectionate warmth with which the European
community took -leave of him in the farewell
address they presented on his departure from
the settlement.

" To your unwearied zeal, your vigilance,
and your comprehensive views," the memorial-
ists said, "we owe at once the foundation and
the maintenance of a settlement unparalleled
for the liberality of the principles on which it
has been established ; principles the operation
of which has converted, in a period short
beyond all example, a haunt of pirates into
the abode of enterprise, security, and opulence.
While we acknowledge our peculiar obligations
to you, we reflect at the same time with pride
and satisfaction upon the active and beneficent
means by which you have promoted and patron-
ised the diffusion of intellectual and m.oral im-
provement, and we anticipate with confidence
their happy influence in advancing the cause of
humanity and civilisation."

In the course of his reply in acknowledgment
of the address Raffles wrote : " It has happily
been consistent with the poHcyof Great Britain
and accordant with the principles of the East
India Company that Singapore should be estab-
lished as a free port, that no sinister, no sordid
view, no considerations either of political im-
portance or pecuniary advantage, should inter-
fere with the broad and liberal principles on

which the British interests have been estab-
lished. Monopoly and exclusive privileges,
against which public opinion has long raised
its voice, are here unknown, and while the free
port of Singapore is allowed to continue and
prosper, as it hitherto has done, the policy
and liberality of the East India Companv, by
whom the settlement was founded and under
whose protection and control it is still adminis-
tered, can never be disputed. That Singapore

settlement, I beg that you will accept my most
sincere thanks. I know the feeling which
dictated it, I acknowledge the delicacy with
which it has been conveyed, and I prize most
highly the gratifying terms to me personally in
which it has been expressed."

An aff'ecting description of Raffles's departure
from Singapore has been left in the Malay work
already referred to by his ser\ant and friend,
Abdullah. After mentioning various gifts that

STATUE OF SIR STAMFORD RAFFLES IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY.
( Photographed specially for this work by permission of the Dean of Westminster.)

will long and always remain a free port, and
that no taxes on trade or industry will be estab-
lished to check its future rise and prosperity,
I can have no doubt. I am justified in saying
this much, on the authority of the Supreme
Government of India, and on the authority of
those who are most likely to have weight in
the councils of our nation at home. For the
public and peculiar mark of respect which you,
gentlemen, ha\'e been desirous of showing me
on the occasion of my departure from the

were made to him by the administrator and
letters recommending him to officials as one to
be trusted, Abdullah writes : "I could not speak,
but I took the papers, while the tears streamed
down my face without my being conscious of
it. That day to part with Sir Stamford Raflles
was to me as the death of my parents. My
regret was not because of the benefits I had
received or because of his greatness or attrac-
tions ; but because of his character and attain-
ments, because every word he said was sincere

B "*

34

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

HENDON CHURCH AND CHURCHYARD, IN WHICH SIR STAMFORD BAFFLES

IS BURIED.
(The supposed position of tiie grave is tlie spot under tlie centre window in tlie middle foreground.)

and reliable, because he never exalted himself
or depreciated others. All these things have
remained in my heart till now, and though I
have seen many distinguished men, many who
were clever, who were rich, who were hand-
some— for character, for the power of winning
affection, and for talent and understanding, I
have never seen the equal of Sir Stamford
Raffles ; though I die and live again, I shall
never find his peer. . . . When I had received
the two letters. Sir Stamford and his lady went
down to the sea, accompanied by an immense
crowd of people of every nationality. I also
went with them, and when they reached the
ship they went on board, A moment later
preparations were made to heave up the
anchor, and Sir Stamford sent for me. I went
into his cabin, and saw that he was wiping the
tears from his eyes. He said, ' Go home ; you
must not grieve, for, as I live, we shall meet
again.' Then Lady Raffles came in and gave
me twenty-five dollars, saying, ' This is for
your children in Malacca.' When I heard that
m\" heart was more than ever fired by the
thought of their kindness. I thanked her and
shook them both by the htind ; but I could not
restrain my tears, so I hurriedly got into my
boat and- pulled away. When we had gone
some distance I looked back and saw Sir
Stamford gazing from the port. I saluted
him and he waved his hand. After some
moments the sails filled and the ship moved
slowly away."

This was Raffles's last view of Singapore.
He proceeded to his charge at Bencoolen to
resume the old life of masterly inactivity. But
he fretted under the chains which bound him
to the Far East, and longed to be once more
in the Old Country to spend what he felt would
be the short remaining period of his life.

Broken in health, weary in spirit, but with
eager anticipations of a pleasant reunion with
old friends, he with Lady Raffles embarked

■^mmmj/H

m;m.

" BAFFLESIA' ARNOLDI."

(Tile gigantic parasitic plant of Java and Sumatra dis-
covered by Raffles.)

on February 2, 1824, on a small vessel called the
Fame for England. Before the ship had barely
got out of sight of the port a fire broke out in

the spirit store below Raffles's cabin, and within
a short period the entire vessel was a mass of
flames. With difficulty the passengers and crew
escaped in boats, but all Raffles's manuscripts
and his natural history collections, the product
of many years' assiduous labour, perished. The
loss was from many points of view irreparable,
and, coming as it did after a succession of
misfortunes, told on Raffles's already enfeebled
constitution. But outwardly he accepted the
calamity with philosophic calm, and prepared
at once to make fresh arrangements for the
return voyage. Another ship was fortunately
available, and in this he and his wife made the
voyage to England. There he met with every
kindness from influential friends, and he settled
down to a country life at Highwood Hill,
Middlesex, having as his neighbour William
Wilberforce, between whom and him there
was a close tie of interest in their mutual
horror of the slave trade. Here he died, after
an attack of apoplexy, on July 5, 1826, and
was buried in Hendon churchyard. His last
days were clouded with troubles arising out
of claims and charges made against him by
the narrow-minded oligarchy of Leadenhall
Street, who dealt with Raffles as they might
have done with a refractory servant entitled
to no consideration at their hands. It has
remained for a later generation to do justice
to the splendid qualities of the man and the
enormous services he rendered to the Empire
by his vigorous and far-seeing statesmanship.

Singapore's progress in the years immedi-
ately following Raffles's departure was steadily
maintained by a wise adherence to the princi-
ples of administration which he had laid down.
Mr. Crawfurd, his successor in the adminis-
tration, was a man of broad and liberal views,
who had served under Raffles in Java, and was
imbued with his enlightened sentiments as to
the conduct of the administration of a colony
which depended for its success upon the
unrestrained operations of commerce. In
handing over charge to him Raffles had
provided him with written instructions empha-
sising the importance of early attention " to the
beauty, regularity, and cleanliness of the settle-
ment," and desiring him in particular to see
that the width of the different roads and streets
was fixed by authority, and " as much attention
paid to the general style of building as circum-
stances admit." These directions Crawfurd kept
well in mind throughout his administration,
with the result that the town gradually assumed

!n mewory'of

Sir Thomas Sta!v,forij RAFhi^s.

F.R.S. U^.D.ETC,

Statesman, Administrator and NatufvalisT:

Founder of the Colony and C!ty of Singapore. January z2\

n8i9-.

Born July sj? i78i. Died at Highwood, Middlesex, July 5^4

I8Z6.

and buried near this Tablet.

Erected in isa? Br Members of the family.

■TABLET TO SIR S'TAMFORD RAFFLES IN HENDON CHURCH,

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

35

an architectural dignity at tliat time quite un-
Icnown in the European settlements in the
East. The value of land in 1824, though small
in comparison with the price now realised for
property in the business quarter of Singapore,
was very satisfactory, having regard to the
brief period of the occupation and the un-
certainty of the political situation. B'or plots
with a So-feet frontage on the river and 150
feet deep, 3,000 dollars were paid, in addition
to an annual quit-rent of 38 dollars. Resi-
dential plots with an area of 1,200 square yards
realised 400 dollars, in addition to an annual
quit-rent of 28 dollars."

At this time there were twelve European
fir-ms of standing established in the settlement
in addition to - many reputable Chinese and
Malay traders. Such was the growth of the
commerce of the place that Crawfurd was
impelled on August 23, 1824, to address a long
despatch to the Supreme Government pleading
for the establishment of a judicial department
to deal with the many and complicated legal
questions that were constantly arising. The
charter of Prince of Wales Island, he thought,
might be taken as a safe precedent, but he
respectfully suggested that the judicial authority
should be separate and distinct from the execu-
tive, "as the surest means of rendering it
independent and respectable." It took the
Calcutta authorities a considerable time to
digest this question, but in the long run
Crawfurd's recommendations were adopted.
On March 6, 1827, an official notification was
issued to the effect that a Court of Judicature
would be opened in Singapore, and that as a
consequence the Resident's Court would be
closed. The establishment of the judicial
system followed upon the definitive occupation
of the island, under the terms of the diplomatic
understanding arrived at in London on March
17, 1824, between the British and the Dutch
Governments. Under the agreement the Dutch
formally recognised the British right to the
settlement, and Crawfurd was instructed to
give the fullest effect to it by completing a final
treaty with the Sultan and the Temenggong.
With some difficulty the compact was made on
August 2, 1824. By its provisions the island of
Singapore was ceded absolutely to the British
Government, together with the sovereignty of
the adjacent seas, straits, and islets to the limit
of ten geographical miles from the Singapore
coasts, and, acting on instructions, Crawfurd,
on August 3, . 1824, embarked in the ship
Malabar on a voyage round the island, with
the object of notifying to all and sundry that
the British really had come to stay.

Fullerton, a Madras civilian, was sent out
as Governor, with Pinang as the seat of
government. Meantime, Singapore had felt
itself important enough to support a newspaper.
This organ, the Singapore Chronicle and Com-
mercial Advertiser, was a tiny sheet of four
quarto pages, badly printed on rough paper,
but answering, it may be supposed, all the needs
of the infant settlement. Mr. C. B. Buckley, in
his erudite " Anecdotal History of Old Times
in Singapore," in alluding to this journal, states
that in 1884 it was not possible to find any

are missing, as they must have contained much
that was of interest. Mr. Crawfurd seems to
have been a frequent contributor to the
columns, and he was a writer, of no mean
hterary skill, as his official despatches and his
later contributions to the Edinburgh Review
clearly attest. Still, the files, even in their
incomplete condition, are highly instructive
and illuminating as guides to the life of the
settlement in the dawn of its existence. The
first fact that is impressed upon the reader is
the censorship which was then maintained

NO.

singapoIle

THkmsD&T, Janswrlliiti, 1^^

ra^j ...

'■lA Jiigl .

•No. 12.
dOVERNMENT.

NOTlFIC.lTtON.
rpHE PlIIltlCAUJiHKRE-
' X B Y hifornit'd tbnt all fiirxofiK
%oktin^ Lands, on the. Inland of
Sin^;ip')rt\ under OninW itwiied hy
Cir T. S. Rapflf,.;, Lacut. ^oyer-
THoivfl'r under authority of Ijoca^- :
«m Tickett< received front th« liitie
|R<Aident Mr. Cmwfurd, uudwlin
%uve coiuplied with the cnnditiulM"
"tof the wauifi, are roiiuiped to n^icn
'^h(*^-' Docnumntfl - into th« 0(H<m
■ef the t40d SnrVBjror, when tMr!
■will to flirtished <vitU frwUiiranlf',
••nthofized nnd coufirinfiii Jjy tht.^'

• ij^gltt Uunonihlc thu Oovampt; 0<)-
-Kifcral hi Council.

AU I'freons who have W«A^
in fulfiilniK the temw of thi:ir OH-p-
' giual Contract toelW «nd hui|<^

• on the L«nd so .IwBtllwwl, at* to-
quired to cnraplete tb<uc tngiii^

■ tntiita oiiL or t>efore'*ho: 1st of Mayj
new, in default pf which, (.hs

• land* offiurh de»cril»tiou will W
' resiifloed by. and re»ect to, the
' HqiiouWe CorapoaJ; aa . Proprio-
'tirBof the Snd. "
*;• It it* .furiher to be lUi^erytood
^Ihat -ito di«por»idi3n of l«audi» V(\\\,

te futai«; bo made by th« Bsci-
dSttt tisudcillw, withoat thttfmiic
thm Stthec^HbiiOrabh! the (Jover-
iHir ia Otvnncitof l"«uice,of Wa|e«
Inland) iii^gflfiore- and ^A\a/si^.

By Ordur of the Hoo«rab»-tht

Ooveroor in Council of l^i:illt*--of

Waley lahtod Singiipore aud ^4^-

locca. . <

JOHN- PRINCE,

Smgapure. 'J.',4 Ju.-.uurj/ liiJU.

iin\iouH to comihciobiutc!
vict!9 Tt'h>ch.hc.hM n
S<.-Ul<nh<4iit,I^l£tf^:
to infocm u^^>irot)eai
liih«1>i}»hK^Sil&(ij{i6t«>'fli«i hw;
iitg reaMVj.'<i'..pftrorw<ioii W epwit'h
monutrfeul' in Oim-rament- HiM tb
hmMeinur^ » SubsCriptftA liM<hlni
Inwn ^ipined »t tlif 'Hii>l»'«>f«(*:
Updernipfed «Hert all ctAHiMltt-i

Fully peceiVfd. when it i* kntJwn,
what ibp aniouht lof «4»j«iH^tlt«(i!l
i» likrly lo hjC tt' (uVefijik'of ikm

cona^^«i^W«nll<« ml

Fos'IAndON OK ANTWliKK'^'j
Tuland pawnxPrt int^ BrtOM"

rriHK fiMi mfp iinn-

1 V.l l.ESy A. I.Capl. Wii.
Va-ikihw*. (iotomander, hn» near-,
Iv I he »li"l<jof her rarRO rnifnuod
tiWt wilt hM_^ thi" ahouttho t-'^lll
proximo. 'i'lit» IlerouIcM i^ a poop
^bi|», .Carrie^ q.f*mxeon and Iuih ex-
ciillsi.taonniodahohfor'jwA-n^erM.
^i'liir.fmBlii or pa»'«ietf apply hi '
1 ;Moaa»x» lliirti) 'ft Co.

;.,.« j.\i lilili.

TalJKSDAr J*N. I8iu ^^V-

Py tlie tVuMW >'oM»'ft JCHptoili

CriLy,'w.|in-va ret'eitMl idviciHi iroili

t ,111' I. ii (lowit to till" ^;rt«jtf dtujOMry

wliicu lsu>hle lis 10 si\o tile loUpvv-.

.•..._<»- -, ... , ^ ...,1/ ..iiViij

ONE OP THE EARLIEST COPIES EXTANT OP THE

ing Tiew of tto deliTery of opiura
itM^f^Hbv.nVWtn ol Uecemlwr »n4-
4hA 4!l»olf i»n hwi(l on the 1»[ of tha

p«««;no,a^,, ^,;,^;„^

i .. i i.;;*'-! ■;■.■'■■ ' ff ■ . »"" ;

tu' th<)''t»«» Cornmiireinl lUjjialw
'r«Mli8n«il that ftlr. Cro2iar all*

Xfi'^^aik, of H-if D..(ci,; a^ .

^ w3^i)»ii, been nWltltrtal lyeUfe
crew itid *» wwl eiirrJ.* Jfttog*.

i</mo«ej thiit'tW C«^t»ht:h»*i
irTOno cat(m Hi oilwi', "li;**
~ iM fonder; wu imowiMDlr
,„^-,- by Wflil IhsHUoihoi' Mp
iMui nwo took pMl -iWih «he.i«l^;
' ; ^litl, tUii .fairitnt-se rMiialaiiMr m
kfled M*. ^nfwetalwi and
,^ i i^a «|i«l!l,*» bh« Mn ataled,
lBloS»olo4. •I'lln Saltiin *f*h» l>l iM
WiJ he«n.'r«!<iuci!t<Nl by die Commwt

orW5witt».»o K''* ,*« fS' '"''• *"*"
to MiWd6|>«^imoftli'Bni!.»<-r«-.«.,

on tlii' lat of January, hud ihu-liiiod
eomplyiait whIitSf fDipiwitu'O 'i'ue
CuvVVaor of M.iiiillu tiMprea-wd nn
hileiitiot) yf ooDttiiiiitift t.i iii-a f"-ry
iiieuuil iu bis power, slwirtol' lorve, (pr
llie recovoW of Ijie'- veMt'l.

Onitlie «iiliji'nl ofauionumo"' 1"
Sir Stuiuliiol .BalllM "o r.-I.T ■•"■
readeri* 10 a irotico vfhu-U .ii". ■'<
oliitrr.atill • leliiT uji')"'' ""■ ■"';-■'•'"
luro af'A. in u >ul..-v.tucol L..lui.,ut.

Wiihlii 111. -■ !•'• .in«tw.,JlM;l,s

Live ..iniMl IfOi t."Ulii|), i'-iii!;

li.e nral Ol ihe -OfllOil. ,A> • "i' ■"''

■ ■ ,t- ; ""

SINGAPORE CHRONICLE.'

CHAPTER III.

Early Days— The First Newspaper.

During the period of Crawfurd's adminis-
tration Singapore was under the control
of the Supreme Government ; but in 1826
the settlement was incorporated with Pinang
and Malacca in one Government, and Mr.

I Resident-General's Report, Journal of the Indian
Archipelago, ix. 468.

copy of the paper before 1831, and " there is not
probably one in existence." Mr. Buckley,
happily for the historian of Singapore, is
mistaken. At the India Office there is preserved
a practically complete file of the paper, com-
mencing with the seventy-third number,
published on January. 4, 1827. From inscrip-
tions on the papers it appears that copies were
regularly forwarded to Leadenhall Street for
the information of the Court of Directors, and
were bound up and kept for reference among
the archives of the Secret Committee. It is
unfortunate that the three earliest years' files

over the press in these settlements as in other
territories under the administration of the East
India Company. In the second number of the
surviving copies of the journal we are con-
fronted with this letter :

" Sir,— By desire of the Hon. Governor in
Council I beg to forward for your guidance the
enclosed rules applicable to the editors of
newspapers in India and to intimate to you
that the permission of Government for the
publication of the Singapore Chronicle and
Contiucrcial Advertiser is granted to you with

36

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

the clear understanding that you strictly adhere
to these regulations.

"As you will now refrain from publishing
anything in your paper which will involve an
infringement of these rules it will no longer be
necessary for you to submit for approval the
proof sheet of each number of the Chronicle
previous to its publication.
" I am, Sir,

" Your obedient servant,
"JoHx Prince,
"Resident Councillor.
"Singapore, Feb. 20, 1827."

The " Hon. Governor in Council " of this
communication was, of course, Mr. Fullerton.
This gentleman came from India filled with
the characteristic hatred of the Anglo-Indian
official of a free press. The smallest criticism
of official action he resented as an insult ; a
slighting reference to himself personally he
regarded as lese majcstc. Apparently he had
expected that his edict would be received with
submissive respect by those whom it concerned.
But he had reckoned without the spirit of
independence which characterised the budding
journalism of the Straits. The editor of the
Chronicle, in publishing the Resident Coun-
cillor's letter, accompanied it with this
comment :

" We cannot err in saying that we receive
these regulations with all the deference which
an intimation of the wishes of the Government
ought to command. They can form, however,
but a feeble barrier against ' offensive remarks '
whilst there is a press in England over which
the sic volo, sic jabeo of Indian authority can
have no control. The rulers of India might as
well attempt, like a celebrated despot of old, to
enchain the waves as to place restrictions upon
the press of England, and whilst that is the
case their measures will be unsparingly cen-
sured whenever they shall deserve it, and the
remarks issuing from that source, no matter
how contraband, will find their way round the
Cape, and will be here read by all those, to a
man, who would have read them had they
been printed originally on the spot. When
Ihis is so very plain, it is really no easy matter
for the governed to discover the object of such
regulations, unless, indeed, it be to prevent the
evil effect which the remarks of wicked editors
might be expected to produce upon the ' reading
public ' among that lettered, and to the in-
fluence of the press most susceptible people,
the Malays."

This was bad enough in the eyes of the
autocrat of Pinang, but there was worse to
follow. On February 15, 1827, the editor, in
referring to the suspension of a Calcutta
editor for criticisms of official action in the
Burmese War, remarked sarcastically that
" however culpable the editor may have been
in other respects, he has not perpetrated in his
remarks the sin of novelty." Mr. Fullerton
was furious at the audacity of the Singapore
scribe, and caused to be transmitted to him
what the Chronicle in its issue of March 29th
described as "a very severe secretarial re-
primand." He was still not intimidated,
as is shown by the pointed announcement in
the same number of the issue in Bengal of " a
very ably conducted paper " under the name of

the Calcutta Gazette, with the motto, " Freedom
which came at length, though slow to come."
However, the official toils were closing around
him. Peremptory orders were issued from
Pinang for the muzzling of the daring jour-
nalist. The editor seems to have got wind of
the pleasant intentions of the Government, and
indulged in this final shriek of liberty •

" Ghost of the Censorship.

"We thought that the censorship had been
consigned to the ' tomb of the Capulets,' that
common charnel-house of all that is worthless.
Either we were mistaken, however, in sup-
posing it thus disposed of, or its ghost, a spirit
of unquiet conscience, continues to haunt these
settlements. It is said to have been wandering
to and fro, and to have arrived lately from
Malacca in a vessel from which we would it
had been exorcised and cast into the sea.

" The paper is going to the press, and we
have but brief space in which to say that we
have this moment heard that it is currently and
on strong authority reported that Government
has re-established the censorship in this settle-
ment. That this is not yet the case we know,
having received no official intimation to that
effect, and until we receive this 'damning
proof we will not believe that Government
can have lapsed into a measure which will
reflect on them such unspeakable discredit.
We have heard much alleged against the
present Government of Pinang, some part of
which, since kings themselves are no longer
deemed impeccable, may be just but we

never heard our rulers deemed so weak, so
wavering, so infirm of purpose, as to promul-
gate a set of admirable regulations to-day, and
presto ! to revoke them to-morrow, restoring a
censorship which of their own free motion and
magnanimous accord they had just withdrawn,
for what reason no sane person will be able to
divine, unless it should chance to be for the
very simple one of putting it on again. Should
the Government have been guilty of an im-
becility such as report assigns them, the world
(if it ever hears of it) will very naturally
conclude that "the removal of the censorship
was a mere bait for applause in the expectation
that Government would never be called upon
for the exercise of the virtues of magnanimity
and forbearance, and that editors could on all
occasions shape their sentiments and the ex-
pression of them by the line and rule of
secretarial propriety."

The "intelligent anticipation" displayed by
the editor in this clever and amusing comment
was speedily justified by facts. On the morning
following the publication of the paper in which
it appears, the journalist received a letter from
the Government at Pinang informing him that
in future he must submit a proof of his paper
previous to publication to the Resident Coun-
cillor. The official version of the episode is to
be found in a letter from Mr. Fullerton to the
Court of Directors, dated August 29, 1827. In
this the Governor wrote : " In consequence of
some objectionable articles in the Singapore
Chronicle, we considered it necessary to estab-
lish rules similar to those estabhshed by the
Supreme Government in 1818. This order was
given under the supposition that the press was
perfectly free, but it appearing that the censor-

ship had been previously imposed and that the
very first publication subsequent to its removal
having contained matter of a most offensive
nature, we were under the necessity of re-
imposing the censorship and censuring the
editor. The proof sheet of each paper was
also directed to be submitted in future to the
Resident Councillor, which was assented to by
Mr. Loch."

From this point the Singapore Chronicle
presents the spectacle of decorous dulness
which might be looked for in the circum-
stances. But the Old Adam peeps out occa-
sionally, as in a racy comment on the intimation
of a Batavian editor that he intended to answer
all attacks on Dutch policy in his journal, or
in the rather wicked interpolation of rows of
asterisks after an article from which the
stinging tail has obviously been excised.
Later, Mr. Loch again got into collision with
Pinang, and there must have been rejoicing in
official altitudes when, on March 26, 1829, he
intimated that he was retiring from the editor-
ship. The new editor was a man of a somewhat
different stamp, judging from his introductory
article. In this he intimated that he made no
pretensions whatever to literai-y or scientific
attainments. "The pursuits to which from a
very early age we have been obliged to devote
ourselves," he wrote, "have precluded- the
possibility of our giving much attention to the
cultivation of letters, so that our readers must
not expect such valuable dissertations on the
subjects we have alluded to as appeared in
the first and second volumes of this journal."
While the new editor was thus modest about
his qualifications, he was not less strong in his
opposition to the censorship than his pre-
decessor. Shortly after he was inducted into
the editorial chair he thus inveighed against
the apathy of the general public on the subject :
"An individual here and there touched with
plebeianism may entertain certain unmannerly
opinions as old-fashioned as the Glorious Revo-
lution, but Monsieur notrc frcre may depend
upon it that the mass of the public are not
affected by this leaven, nor can be spurred into
complaint by anything short of a stamp regula-
tion or some other process of abstra<;tion, the
effects of which become more speedily tan-
gible to their senses than the evils arising
from restriction upon the freedom of publi-
cation."

Harassed by official autocrats and hampered
by mechanical difficulties, the Singapore jour-
nalism of early days left a good deal to be
desired. Nevertheless, in these "brief and
abstract chronicles" of the infant settlement
we get a vivid picture of Singapore life as it
was at that period. Sir Stamford Raffles's
shadow still rested over the community. Xow
we read an account of his death with what
seems a very inadequate biography culled
from " a morning paper " at home, and almost
simultaneously appears an account of a move-
ment for raising some monument to his honour.
Later, there are festive gatherings, at which
" the memory of Sir Stamford Raffles " is dnink
in solemn silence. Meanwhile, a cutting from
a London paper gives us a glimpse of Colonel
Farquhar as the principal guest at an influen-
tially attended banquet in the city. Local
news consists mostly of records of the arrival

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

37

of ships. Occasionally we get a signilicant
reminder of what " the good old times " in the
Straits were like, as, for example, in the
announcement of the arrival of a junk with a
thousand Chinese on board on the verge of
starvation because of the giving out of supplies,
or in the information brought by incoming
boats of bloody work by pirates a few miles
beyond the limits of the port. Or again, in a
report (published on September ii, 1828) of the
arrival of the Abercrombie Robiiisoit, an East
Indiaman from Bombay, after a voyage during
which twenty-seven of the crew were carried
off by cholera. On April 17, 1827, there is
great excitement over the arrival in port of the
first steamship ■ ever seen there — the Dutch
Government vessel, Vandcr Capdlan. The
Malays promptly christen her the Kapal Asap,
or smoke vessel, and at a loss to discover by
what means she is propelled, fall back on the
comfortable theory that her motion is caused
by the immediate agency of the evil one.
Socially, life appears to run in agreeable lines.
Now the handful of Europeans who compose
the local society are foregathering at the
annual assembly of the Raffles Club, at which
there is much festivity, though the customary
dance is not given, out of respect for the
memory of the great administrator who had
just passed away. At another time there is
a brilliant entertainment at Government House
in honour of the King's birthday, with an
illumination of the hill which evokes the
enthusiastic admiration of the reporter. Some
one is even heroic enough to raise a proposal
for the construction of a theatre, while there is
a lively polemic on the evergreen subject of
mixed bathing.

From the point of view of solid information
these early Singapore papers are of exceptional
interest and value. In them we are able to
trace political currents which eddied about the
settlement at this juncture, threatening at times
to overwhelm it. One characteristic effusion
of the period is an editorial comment on an
announcement conveyed by a Pinang cor-
respondent that the Government there was
framing some custom-house regulations for
Singapore, and was about to convene a meeting
of Pinang jiierchants for the purpose of
approving them. " Offensive remarks levelled
at Councillors are prohibited," wrote the scribe
in sarcastic allusion to the press regulations,
" otherwise, though not disciples of Roche-
foucauld, we might have ventured to doubt
whether the merchants of Penang are precisely
the most impartial advisers that Government
could have selected as guides in a course of
custom-house legislation for the port of Singa-
pore.

" It is to be hoped the merchants of Penang
may be cautious in what they approve. Trade
may be as effectually injured by regulations as
by customs-house exactions, and every new
regulation added to the existing heap may be
looked upon as an evil. Here it is the general

I " On the 17th April the Dutch steam vessel Vaiider
Capellaii arrived here from Batavia, having made the
passage from the latter place in seven liours. She is
the first vessel that has ever been propelled by steam
in these Straits, and the second steam vessel em-
ployed to the eastward of the Cape, the Diana, of
Calcutta, which proved of much service in the
Burmese War, being the first."— Singapore Chronicle,
April 26, 1827.

opinion that the extent of the trade of these
ports is already known with sufficient accuracy
for every wise and beneficent purpose ; that
perfect exactness cannot be attained, and if it
could, would be useless ; but that if the Court
of Directors shall, notwithstanding, with the
minuteness of retail grocers, persist in the
pursuit of it and adopt a, system of petty and
vexatious regulations (the case is a supposed
one), it will be attended with inconvenience to
the merchants and detriment to the trade and
prosperity of these settlements." '

These spirited words arc suggestive of the
prevalent local feeling at the time as to the
interference of Pinang. Obviously there was
deep resentment at the attitude implied in the
reported statement that the concerns of Singa-
pore were matters which Pinang must settle.
Singapore at this time was decidedly "feeling
its feet," and was conscious and confident of its
destiny. A Calcutta paper having ventured
upon the surmise that " Singapore is a bubble
near exploding," the editor promptly took up
the challenge in this fashion :

'• Men's prediclions are often an index to
their wishes. Fortunately, however, the pros-
perity of Singapore is fixed on too firm a
foundation to be shaken by an artillery of
surmises. Those who lift up their voices and
prophesy against this place may, therefore,
depend upon it they labour in a vain vocation
unless they can at the same time render a
reason for the faith that is in them by showing
that the causes which have produced the past
prosperity of the settlement either have ceased
to operate or soon will do so. Till this is done
their predictions are gratuitous and childish."

Side by side with this note appeared a de-
scription of the Singapore of that day written
by a Calcutta visitor. It was intended, it
seemed, as a refutation of the bursting bubble
theory, and it certainly is fairly conclusive
proof of its absurdity. " Here," wrote the
visitor, "there is more of an English port
appearance than in almost any place I have
visited in India. The native character and
peculiarities seem to have merged more into
the English aspect than I imagined possible,
and I certainly think Singapore proves more
satisfactorily than any place in our possession
that it is possible to assimilate the Asiatic and
the European very closely in the pursuits of
commerce. The new appearance of the place
is also very pleasing to the eye, and a great
relief from the broken down, rotten, and decayed
buildings of other ports in the peninsula. The
regularity and width of the streets give Singa-
pore a cheerful and healthy look, and the plying
of boats and other craft in its river enlivens the
scene not a little. At present here are no fewer
than three ships of large burden loading for
England. The vessels from all parts of the
archipelago are also in great numbers and
great variety. At Penang and Malacca the
godowns of a merchant scarcely tell you what
he deals in, or rather proclaim that he does
nothing from the little bustle that prevails in
them ; here you stumble at every step over the
produce of China and the Straits in active
preparation for being conveyed to all parts of
the world."

These shrewd observations speak for them-

I Ibid., March 15, 1827.

selves, but if additional evidence is needed it is
supplied by the population returns of the period
which figure in the columns of the paper.
Exclusive of the military, the inhabitants of
Singapore in 1826 numbered, according to
official computation, 10,307 males and 3,443
females. The details of the enumeration may
be given, as they are of considerable interest :

Males.

Vem.'iles.

Europeans

69

18

Armenians

16

3

Native Christians ...

128

60

Arabs

18

8

Chinese

S.747

341

Malays

2,Sor

2,289

Bugis

666

576

Javanese

174

93

Natives of Bengal ...

209

35

Natives of the Coast

of Coromandel

772

5

Coffries

2

3

Siamese

5

2

Totals

10,307 3,443

The points of interest in this table are the
smallness of the European population and the
numerical strength of the Chinese community.
The latter, it will be seen, numbered more than
half the entire population and considerably
exceeded the Malays. The circumstance shows
that from the very outset of Singapore's career
the Chinese played a leading part in its deve-
lopment. Keen traders as a race, they recog-
nised at once the splendid possibilities of the
port for trade, and they no doubt appreciated
to the full the value of the equal laws and
opportunities which they enjoyed under the
liberal constitution with which Raffles had
endowed the settlement.

Mr. Fullerton, besides placing shackles on
the press, distinguished himself by a raid on
"interlopers," as all who had not the requisite
licence of the East India Company to reside
in their settlements were regarded. Most
writers on Singapore history have represented
his action in this particular as an independent
display of autocratic zeal. But the records
clearly show that he was acting under explicit
instructions from the Court of Directors to call
upon all European residents in the settlement
to show their credentials. The circular which
Fullerton issued brought to light that there were
26 unlicensed persons in the settlement, besides
those who had no other licence than that of the
local authority. The matter was referred home
for consideration, with results which appear in
the following despatch of September 30, 1829 ;

" The list which you have furnished of
Europeans resident at this last settlement
(Singapore) includes a considerable number
of persons who have received no licence from
us. We approve of your having made known
to each of these individuals his liability to
removal at our pleasure. Under the peculiar
circumstances of this settlement it has not been
our practice to discourage the resort of Euro-
peans thither for the purpose of following any
creditable occupation, and we perceive that all
those who have recently arrived there have
obtained respectable employment. We there-
fore shall make no objection to their con-
tinuance at the settlement while they fulfil

38

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

what you are to consider as the impHed con-
dition of our sufferance in all such cases, that
of conducting themselves with propriety." ■

This incident made Mr. Fullerton very un-
popular with the European inhabitants, and
about the same time he incurred the disfavour
of the native population by the introduction of
drastic land regulations based on the Madras
model. The necessity for some action seems
to have been urgent, judging from the tenor
of an entry in the Singapore records under date
August 29, 1827. It is here stated that during
the administration of Mr. Crawfurd great laxity

payment at the rate of two rupees per acre of
the land surveyed. Up to September 18, 1829,
the ground covered included 4,909 acres of
Singapore, 1,038 of St. George's in Blakang
Mati Island, and 215 of Gage Island. It was
then recommended that the survey should
embrace the Bugis town, Rochar river, and
Sandy Point, " by which the brick kilns and all
the unoccupied land in that direction will be
brought into the survey, as well as all the forts
connected with the plan of defence." The pro-
posals were adopted, and the survey finally
completed by Mr. Coleman.

demurred to this, and declined to make any
advance without direct authority. Thereupon
the Recorder refused to proceed to Malacca
and Singapore. Finding him obdurate, the
Governor himself went to discharge the
judicial duties in those ports. Before leaving
he made a call for certain documents from the
Court of Judicature, and received from Sir J. T.
Claridge a flat refusal to supply them. Not to
be frustrated, Mr. Fullerton sumrnoned a full
court, and he and the Resident Councillor, as
the majority, carried a resolution directing the
documents to be supplied, and as a consequence

MAP OF Tue
l'(>-'-< ■'■n f;.-'')7RO.'V.S

'-.--'A.' . j«i*->i

MAP OF SINGAPORE IN 1837.

was manifested in respect of the grant of loca-
tion tickets. Those outstanding issued by Mr.
Crawfurd alone (all for land in the vicinity of
the town) amounted to within 14,000 acres of
the whole computed area of the island, " although
but a very inconsiderable space is cleared, and
the greater part of the island is still an imper-
vious forest." An almost necessary outcome of
the new land system was the commencement
of a topographical survey of the island. The
work was entrusted to Mr. George D. Coleman^
the gentleman responsible for the act of van-
dalism narrated in the previous chapter. Mr.
Coleman erred on this occasion, but his name
will always be linked with some of the most
useful work associated with the building of
Singapore. The survey was undertaken by
Mr. Coleman independently on the basis of
1 " Straits Settlements Records," Xo. 195.

CHAPTER IV.

Introduction of the Judicial System — The
Dawn of Municipal Government.

The arbitrariness shown by Mr. Fullerton
in his administrative acts was extended to
his relations with his official colleagues, and
brought him into collision more than once with
them. The most violent of these personal con-
troversies, and in its effects the most important,
was a quarrel with Sir J. T. Claridge, the
Recorder, over a question relating to the
latter's expenses on circuit. Sir J. T. Claridge
contended that the demand made upon him
under the new charter to- hold sessions at
Singapore and Malacca entitled him to special
expenses, and that these should be paid him
before he went on circuit. Mr. Fullerton

they were supplied. Following upon these in-
cidents Sir J. T. Claridge paid a visit to Cal-
cutta, with the object of consulting his judicial
brethren there on the points at issue in his
controversy with the Governor. Apparently
the advice given to him was that he had made
a mistake in declining to transact his judicial
duties. At all events, on returning to Pinang
he intimated his readiness to proceed to
Malacca and Singapore. The journey was
undertaken in due course, but on arriving at
Singapore Sir J. T. Claridge cast a veritable
bomb into Government circles by a declaration
from the bench that the Gaming Farm, from
which a substantial proportion of the revenue
of the settlement was derived, was illegal.
Reluctantly the authorities relinquished the
system, which had proved so convenient a
means of filling their exchequer, and which

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

39

they were prepared to defend on the ground
even of morality. In the meantime the struggle
between the two functionaries had been trans-
ferred to Leadenhall Street, and from thence
came, in the latter part of 1829, an order for Sir
J. T. Claridge's recall. The Recorder was at
first disposed to complete the judicial work
upon which he was engaged, but Mr. Fullerton
would not hear of his remaining in office a
minute longer, and he eventually embarked for
England on September 7, 1829, much, no doubt,
to the relief of his official associates at Pinang.
On arrival home Sir J. T. Claridge appealed to
the Privy Council against his recall, but with-
out avail. The Council, while holding that no
imputation rested upon his capacity or integrity
in the discharge of his judicial functions, con-
sidered that his conduct had been such as to
justify his dismissal. The effect of the decision
was to re-establish the court under the old
charter, and Sir Benjamin Malkin was sent
out as Recorder. He assumed his duties in the
Straits in 1833.

The introduction of a regular judicial system
had one important consequence not contem-
plated probably by the officialdom of the
Straits when the charter was given. It
opened the way to municipal government.
Early in 1827 a body called the Committee
of Assessors was appointed in Pinang to super-
vise the cleansing, watching, and keeping in
repair of the streets of the settlement, and
the following editorial notice in the Singapore
Chronicle of April 26th of the same year
appears to indicate that an analogous body
was set up in Singapore :

"We adverted a short time ago to the im-
provements carrying on and contemplated by
the Committee of Assessors, and we hope that
the kindness of our friends will enable us in a
future number to give a detailed account of
them all. We understand that the Govern-
ment, with their accustomed liberality wherever
the interests of the island are concerned, have
not only warmly sanctioned, but have promised
to bear half the expenses of the projected new
roads ; and we hope that their aid will be
equally extended to the other improvements
which are projected."

The editor went on to suggest the holding of
a, lottery as a means of raising funds. This
question of funds was a difficulty which appa-
rently sterilised the nascent activities of the
pioneer municipal body. At all events its
existence was a brief one, as is evident from a
presentment made by the grand jury at the
quarter sessions in February, 1829, over which
Sir J. T. Claridge presided. The grand jury
requested the authorities "to take into con-
sideration the expediency and advantage of
appointing a committee of assessors, chosen
from amongst the principal inhabitants of the
settlement, for the purpose of carrying into
effect without delay a fair and equitable assess-
ment of the property of each inhabitant in
houses, land, &c., for the maintenance of an
efficient night police, and for repairing the
roads, bridges, &c." The suggestion called
forth the following observations from the
Recorder ;

" As to that part of your presentment which
relates to roads and bridges and that which
relates to the police, I must refer you to the

printed copies of the charter (page 46) by
which the court is authorised and empowered
to hold a general and quarter sessions of the
peace, and to give orders touching the making,
repairs, and cleansing of the roads, streets,
bridges, and ferries, and for the removal and
abatement of public nuisances, and for such
other purposes of police, and for the appoint-
ment of peace officers and the trial and punish-
ment of misdemeanours, and doing such other
acts as are usually done by justices of the peace
at their general and quarter sessions in England
as nearly as circumstances will admit and shall
require." The Recorder then stated the manner
in which these matters were conducted in
England, and concluded by observing that
"as it would be nugatory to empower the
court of quarter sessions to give orders touch-
ing the several matters specified unless they
have also the means of carrying such orders
into effect, I think the court of quarter sessions
may legally make a rate for the above purpose."

In consequence of this the magistrates con-
vened a meeting of the principal inhabitants to
discuss the matter. At this gathering they
proposed as a matter of courtesy to admit a
certain number of merchants to act with them
as assessors, but at the same time gave the
meeting to understand that they alone pos-
sessed the power to enforce the payment of
the assessments. None of the merchants,
however, would consent to act. They declined
on the ground that as they possessed no legal
authority to act they could exercise no efficient
check. They intimated, furthermore, that they
had complete confidence in the integrity of the
present bench. Subsequently the magistrates
issued a notification that a rate of 5 per cent,
would be made on the rents of all houses in
Singapore. There was at the outset some dis-
position on the part of the officials to question
the legality of this assessment, but in the end
the magistrates' power to make a rate was
acknowledged and Singapore entered smoothly
upon its municipal life.

Some years later the Committee of Assessors
here and at Malacca and Pinang developed
into a Municipal Board, constituted under an
Act of the Legislative Council of India. The
authority consisted of five Commis,sioners, two
of whom were nominated by the Government
and three elected by ratepayers who con-
tributed 25 dollars annually of assessed taxes.

Though to a certain extent these were days
of progress in Singapore, some of the official
records read strangely at the present time,
when Singapore is one of the great coaling
stations and cable centres of the world. Take
the following entry of June 21, 1826, as an ex-
ample : " We are not aware of any other
means of procuring coal at the Eastern settle-
ments excepting that of making purchases from
time to time out of the ships from Europe and
New South Wales. Under instructions received
from the Supreme Government we made a pur-
chase a short time since of forty tons of the article
from the last-mentioned country at the price of
14 Spanish dollars per ton." The spectacle of
the Singapore Government relying upon passing
ships for their supplies of coal is one which will
strike the present-day resident in the Straits as
comic. But it is not, perhaps, so amusing as
the attitude taken up by the Leadenhall Street

magnates on the subject of telegraphy. In 1827,
the Inspector-General having urged the ex-
pediency of establishing telegraphic communi-
cation between several points on the main
island, the local Government directed him to
submit an estimate of the probable cost of
three telegraph stations, and meantime they
authorised the appointment of two Europeans
as signalmen on a salary of Rs. 50 a month.
In due course the minute relating to the subject
was forwarded home, with a further proposal
for the erection of a lighthouse. The Court of
Directors appear to have been astounded at the
audacity of the telegraphic proposal. In a des-
patch dated June 17, 1829, they wrote : " You
will probably not find it expedient to erect at
present the proposed lighthouse at Singapore,
and we positively interdict you from acting
upon the projected plan for telegraphic com-
munication. We can conceive no rational use
for the establishment of telegraphs in such a
situation as that of Singapore." " No rational
use " for telegraphs in Singapore ! How those
old autocrats of the East India Office would
rub their eyes if they could see Singapore as it
is to-day — the great nerve centre from which
the cable sj'stem of the Eastern world radiates !
But no doubt the Court of Directors acted
according to the best of their judgment.
Singapore in those far-off times wanted many
things, and telegraphic communication might
well appear an unnecessary extravagance
beside them. For example, the island was
so defenceless that in 1827, on the receipt of
a false rumour that war had been declared
between Great Britain and France and Spain,
orders had to be given for the renewal of the
carriages of guns at the temporary battery
erected on the occupation of the island and for
" the clearing of the Point at the entrance to
the creek for the purpose of laying a platform
battery." About the same time we find the
Resident Councillor urging the necessity of
erecting public buildings, " the few public
buildings now at Singapore being in a very
dilapidated state, and others being urgently
required to be built." Meanwhile, he intimates
that he has " engaged anew house, nearly com-
pleted, for a court-house and Recorder's
chambers at a yearly rental of 6,000 dollars
for three years, it being the only house in the
island adapted for the purpose." Another
passage in the same communication states that
owing to the " very improper and inconvenient
situation of the burial ground on the side of
Government Hill" the Inspector-General had
selected " a more suitable spot in the vicinity
of the town, which vi'e have directed to be
walled in."

Sir J. T, Claridge's judicial dictum that
"gambling was an indictable offence" was a
source of considerable embarrassment to the
Government. The substantial sum derived from
the farming of the right to keep licensed
gaming-houses could not be readily sacrificed.
On the other hand, it was manifestly impossible
to disregard the opinion of the highest judicial
authority in the settlements. Acting in a spirit
of indecision, the Government reluctantly sus-
pended the Gaming Farm system. The dis-
organisation to the finance which resulted from
the action was considerable, and with the de-
parture of Sir J. T. Claridge it seems to have

40

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

been felt that his opinion might be disregarded.
The machinery consequently was set in m.otion
again after the issue of a minute by Mr. Fuller-
ton affirming the legality of this method of
raising the revenue. The effect upon the
revenue was very marked. The receipts
advanced from Rs. 95,482.11.10 in 1829-30 to
Rs. 177,880.15 in the year 1830-31.

The Singapore administration as a whole at
this juncture was in a state of no little con-
fusion, owing to changes which were impending
in the constitution of the Straits. In 1827 Lord
William Bentinck, the Governor-General, had
descended upon the settlements infused with
what the local officialdom regarded as an un-
holy zeal for economy. On arriving at Pinang
he professed not to be able to see what the
island was like for the number of cocked hats in
the way. Forthwith he proceeded to cut down
the extravagant establishment maintained
there. He visited Singapore, and his sharp eye
detected many weak points in the adminis-
trative armour. The official shears were exer-
cised in various directions, and retrenchment
was so sternly enforced that Mr. Fullerton felt
himself constrained to withdraw the official
subsidies, or, as tliey preferred to regard them,
subscriptions, from the local press. The Malacca
editor kicked against the pricks, and found
himself in difficulties in consequence. At
Singapore a more philosophical view was
taken of the Government action. It was
argued that if Government was at liberty to
withdraw its subscription the editor was free

to withhold his papers and close his columns
to Government announcements. Acting on
this principle, he informed the authorities that
they could no longer be supplied with the

LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK.
(From an engraving in tlie British Museum.)

eleven free copies of the journal they had been
in the habit of receiving. The officials retorted
with a more rigorous censorship. And so the
battle was waged until Mr. Fullerton finally

shook the dust of the Straits from his feet in the
middle of 1830. Before this period arrived a
great change had been made in the govern-
ment of Singapore. As a result of Lord
William Bentinck's visit the settlement, in com-
mon with Pinang and Malacca, were in 1830
put under the control of the Government of
Bengal. The change was sanctioned in a
despatch of the Supreme Government dated
May 25, 1830. In this communication the
headquarters of the new administration was
fixed at Singapore, with Mr. Fullerton as
" Chief Resident " on a salary of Rs. 36,000.
Under him were a First Assistant, with a salary
of Rs. 24,000, and a Second Assistant, with
Rs. 10,000. The chief officials at Pinang and
Malacca were styled Deputy-Residents, and
their emoluments were fixed at Rs. 30,000 for
the former and Rs. 24,000 for the latter. Two
chaplains, with salaries of Rs. 9,600, and a.
missionary, with Rs. 2,500, were part of the
estabUshment.

Mr. Fullerton remained only a few months in
chief control at Singapore. Before he handed
over control to his successor, Mr. Ibbetson, he
penned a long and able minute on the trade of
the three settlements. He gave the following
figures as representative of the imports and
exports for the official year 1828-29 ■

Rs.

Imports

... 1,76,40,969!

Exports

- i,58,25.997i

This paragraph relative to the method of

SINGAPORE FROM THE ESPLANADE.
(From Captain Bethune's "Views in the Eastern Archipelago," published 1847.)

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

41

trading followed in Singapore is of interest
from the light it throws on the early commercial
system of the settlement : " In considering the
extent of the trade at Singapore, rated not in
goods but in money, some reference must be
had to the peculiar method in which all com-
mercial dealings are there conducted ; the
unceasing drain of specie leaves not any
scarcely in the place. Specie, therefore, never
enters into any common transaction. All goods
are disposed of on credit, generally for two
months, and to intermediate native Chinese
merchants, and those at the expiration of the
period deliver in return not money, but articles
of Straits produce adapted to the return cargo ;
the value on both sides of the transaction is rated
from 25 to 30 per cent, beyond the sum that
would be paid in ready cash ; and as the price
current from which the statement is rated is
the barter and not the ready money price, the
real value of the trade may be computed 30 per
cent, under the amount stated." '

About this period a curious question, arising
out of the occupation of the island, gave a con-
siderable amount of trouble to the authorities-
By the terms of the Treaty of 1815 the United
States trade with the Eastern dependencies of
Great Britain was confined to Calcutta, Madras,
Bombay, and Pinang. The .construction put
upon this provision by the Straits officials was
that Singapore, even when under the govern-
ment of Pinang, was not a port at which the
citizens of the United States could trade. The
consequence was that American ships, then very
numerous in these seas, touched only at Singa-
pore and proceeded to Riau, where they
shipped cargo vi/hich had been sent on from the
British port. The practice was not only irk-
some to the Americans, but it was detrimental
to British trade in that it diverted to the Dutch
port much business which would otherwise
have been transacted at Singapore. Eventually,
in March, 1830, the Singapore Government,
yielding to the pressure which was put upon
them, agreed to allow American vessels to
trade with Singapore. But they intimated that
" it must be understood that such permission
cannot of itself legalise the act should other
public officers having due authority proceed
against the ships on the ground of illegality."
The concession was freely availed of, and the
mercantile marine of the United States played
no small part in the next few years in build-
ing up the great trade which centred at the
port.

Mr. Ibbetson retired from the government in
1833, and was succeeded by Mr. Kenneth Mur-
chison, the Resident Councillor at Singapore.
After four years' tenure of the office Mr. Mur-
chison proceeded home, handing over charge
temporarily to Mr. Samuel G. Bonham. Mr.
Church was sent out from England to fill the
vacant office, but he remained only a few
months. On his departure Mr. Bonham was
appointed as his successor, and held the ap-
pointment until 1843. During his administra-
tion the trade of the port greatly increased.
Ships of all nations resorted to the settlement
as a convenient calling place on the voyage to
and from the Far East, while it more and more
became an entrepot for the trade of the Eastern

■ " Report of the East India Cnmpany's Affairs,
1831-32," Part II. p. 656.

seas. On I the outbreak of the China War its
strategic value was demonstrated by the ready
facilities it afforded for the expeditious despatch
of troops and stores to the theatre of war. For
nearly three years it formed the rendezvous as
well as in great measure the base of the expedi-
tionary force, and unquestionably no small
share of the success of the operations was due
to the fact that the Government had this
convenient centre with its great resources at
their disposal. These were halcyon days for
Singapore merchants, and, indeed, for residents

imagine that these waters were almost within
living memory infested with bloodthirsty
pirates, who prosecuted their operations on an
organised system, and robbed and murdered
under the very guns of the British settlements.
Such, however, was the case, as is attested not
merely in the works of passing travellers but in
the formal records of Government and the pro-
ceedings of the courts. Singapore itself, without
doubt, was, before the British occupation, a nest
of pirates. Thereafter the piratical base was
transferred to the Karimun Islands, and from

A MALAY PRAHU.
(From a sketch in llie India Office.)

of all descriptions. So flourishing was the
settlement that there were some who thought
that the progress was too rapid to be really
.healthy. One writer of the period confidently '
declared that the trade of the port had reached
its maximum, and that the town had attained to
its highest point of importance and prosperity.
"Indeed," he added, "it is at the present
moment rather overbuilt." Alas ! for the repu-
tation of the prophet. Since the time his pre-
diction was penned Singapore has considerably
more than quadrupled in trade and population,
and its maximum of development is still
apparently a long way off.

CHAPTER V.

Piracy ix the Str.^its — Steam Navigation
— Fiscal Questions.

A BLOT, and a serious one, upon the government
of the Straits Settlements up to and even beyond
this period was the piracy which was rife
throughout the archipelago. At the present
day, when vessels of all classes sail through the
Straits with as little apprehension as they navi-
gate the English Channel, it is difficult to

• " Trade and Travel in the Far East," by G. F.
Davidson, p. 69.

time to time, even after the Dutch annexation of
the islands in 1827, these were a favourite resort
of the roving hordes which battened on the trade
of the new British port. The native chiefs were
usually hand in glove with the pirates, and
received toll of their nefarious trade. Thus we
find Mr. Fullerton, in a communication to
Government, vi^riting in April, 1829 : " Of the
connection of the Sultan of Johore, residing
under our protection at Singapore, and his
relatives, the chiefs of Rhio and Lingen, with
the pirates to the eastward there is little doubt,
and there is some reason to believe that the ex-
Raja of Quedah, residing under our protection
at this island [Pinang], if he does not directly
countenance the piratical proceedings of his
relatives, does not use any means seriously to
discourage them."' The usual prey of the
pirates was the native junks which traded
between China and the Straits ports. But
European vessels were attacked when the
venture could be undertaken with impunity,
and interspersed in the prosaic records of the
dull round of ordinary administration are
thrilling and romantic accounts of captive
Englishmen, and even Englishwomen, de-
tained in bondage in the then remote interior
by native chiefs to whom they had been
sold by pirates. Spasmodic efforts were
made by the authorities from time to time

' " Straits Settlements Recurds," No. 184.

42

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

to grapple with the evil, but, apart from a
little bloodshed and a liberal expenditure of
ammunition, the results were practically ml.
The elusive pirates, in the face of the superior
force which went out after them, showed
that discretion which is proverbially the better
part of valour. They lived to fight another
day, and not infrequently that other day was
one in the immediate future, for the intelligence
system of the bands was well organised, and
they usually knew the exact limits of the
official action.

The commercial community of Singapore
wa-jced very restive under the repeated losses to
which they were subjected by the piratical
depredations. In an article on piracy on June
17, 1830, the Singapore Chronicle stigmatised in
sharp terms the supineness of the British and
Dutch authorities in permitting the organised
system of piracy which then ^xisted in the
Straits. After stating that therg was a total
stagnation of trade owing to rovers hovering
within gunshot of Singapore river, the writer
proceeded : " Our rulers say : ' Let the galled
jade wince.' They wander the Straits in well-
armed vessels and may well feel apathy and
security, but were one of the select, a governor
or resident or deputy, to fall into the hands of
pirates, what would be the consequence ? We
should then have numerous men-of-war,
cruisers, and armed boats scourjng these seas.
Indeed, to produce such an effect, though we
wish no harm, and would exert faurselves to the
utmost for his release, we would not care to
hear of such an event. We have heard or
read of a bridge in so dilapidated a condition
that in crossing it lives were frequently lost.
No notice was ever taken of such accidents !
At length, woe to the time ! on an unlucky
morning the servant maid of Lady Mayo, un-
fortunately for herself and the public, let a
favourite pug dog (a poodle) drop over the
parapet into the water. The poor dear animal
was drowned. What was the consequence of
such a calamity .' Was the bridge repaired 1
No, but a new one was built ! "

The lash of the writer's satire was none too
severe, and it seems not to have been without
effect, for shortly afterwards a man-of-war was
sent to cruise about the entrance to the har-
bour. But the measure fell very short of what
was needed. The pirates, fully advertised of
the vessel's movements, took care to keep out
of the way, and when some time afterwards it
was removed from the station their operations
were resumed with full vigour. So intolerable
did the situation at last become that in 1832 the
Chinese merchants of the port, with the sanc-
tion of the Government, equipped at their own
expense four large trading boats fully armed to
suppress the pirates. The little fleet on sally-
ing out fell in with two pirate prahus, and
succeeded in sinking one of them. The
Government, shamed into activity by this
display of private enterprise, had two boats
built at iWalacca for protective purposes. They
carried an armament of 24-pounder guns, and
were manned by Malays. It was a very inade-
quate force to cope with the widespread piracy
of the period, and the conditions not materially
improving, petitions were in 1835 forwarded by
the European inhabitants of Singapore to the
King and to the Governor-General, praying

for the adoption of more rigorous measures.
In response to the appeal H.M. sloop WolfwTis
sent out with a special commission to deal with
the pirates. Arriving on March 22, 1836, she
conducted a vigorous crusade against the
marauders. The pirates were attacked in
their lairs and their boats either captured or
destroyed. One of the prahus seized by the
Wolf was 54 feet long and 15 feet beam, but
the general length of these craft was 56 feet.
They were double-banked, pulling 36 oars — 18
on each side. The rowers were of the lower
castes or slaves. Each prahu had a stockade
not far from the bow, through which was
pointed an iron 4-pounder. There was another
stockade aft on which were stuck two swivels,
and around the sides were from three to six
guns of the same description." The brilliant
work done by the Wolf was greatly appreciated
by the mercantile community at Singapore.
To mark "their grateful sense of his unwearied
and successful exertions " the European and
Chinese merchants presented to Captain Stan-
ley, the commandant of the Wolf a sword of
honour, and a public dinner was given to him
and his officers on June 14, 1837, at which
most complimentary speeches were delivered.
Severely as the pirates had been handled by
the Wolf, the iniquitous trade had only been

PEBBLES ENCLOSED IN BASKET.

(A substitute for shot, used in old times by the Malay

pirates. From a slcetch in the India Office )

scotched. It developed into activity again and
again subsequently, and was not finally wiped
out until after repeated expeditions had been
conducted against the marauders. As far as
piracy on the open sea was concerned the
development of steam navigation did more
than anything else to remove the curse from
the Straits. The first experience of the ruilians
of the new force had in it an element of grim
amusement. In 1837 the Diana, a little steam
consort of the Wolf, was cruising in the Straits
when she fell in with a pirate flotilla. The
marauders, thinking she was a sailing-boat on
fire, and therefore an easy prey for theiT), bore
down upon her, firing as they approached. To
their horror the Diana came up close against
the wind and then suddenly stopped before
the leading prahu, pouring a deadly fire into
the pirate ranks. The process was repeated
before each craft of the flotilla, with the result
that the force in the end was almost annihilated.
Profiting by their bitter experience on this and
other occasions, the pirates confined their opera-
tions to those parts of the coast on which the
shallow waters and numerous creeks provided
a safe refuge in case of attack by war vessels,
and so they contrived to postpone for years
the inevitable end of the system which had
flourished for ages in the archipelago.
■ '* Anecdotal History of Singapore."

The introduction of steam navigation into
the Straits had such wide-reaching effects on
the trade of Singapore that a reference to the
subject falls naturally into a survey of the his-
tory of the settlement. In an earlier part of
this work we have seen that to the Dutch
belongs the honour of placing the first steam
vessel on the Straits. The Vander Capellan
was not what would be considered in these
days a success. It steamed only a few knots
an hour, could keep the sea merely for a very
short time, and its passages were frequently
interrupted by breakdowns of the machinery.
Still, its perforinances were sufficiently re-
markable to suggest the enormous possibilities
of the new force in the usually calm waters of
the Straits, After its appearance a scheme
was mooted for the establishment of a steam
service between Singapore, Batavia, Malacca,
Pinang, and Calcutta. The expectation was
that the passage from the former port to
Calcutta, which in the case of sailing ships
occupied five weeks, would not take more than
eight days. Nothing came of the project im-
mediately. The pioneers were before their
time. They had to reckon with an immense
amount of prejudice on the part of vested
interests and a still larger degree of honest
incredulity as to the financial practicability of
working so expensive an agency as steam
appeared to be. We get a vivid impression of
the doubtful attitude of the Singapore commu-
nity in the columns of the Singapore Chronicle
in 1828. The Malacca paper about the middle
of that year published an article enthusiastically
recommending the introduction of steam navi-
gation. The Singapore editor in the issue of
his paper of October 23rd, commenting on this,
said : " That it would be an agreeable, if not in
other respects a very useful, thing to have a
steam vessel between the settlements, which
might visit now and then Calcutta, Java, or
China, everyone is agreed. The only ques-
tion, but rather a material one, is — would it
pay ? Supposing the vessel purchased and
ready for sea, would the money received for
freight and passage pay the interest of the
outlay ? Would it pay the heavy and constantly
recurring charges of a competent commander,
an engineer, a crew, fuel, the expenses of
frequent repairs, including the loss of time
consumed in them ? " The Malacca scribe,
not deterred by this copious dash of cold
water, reiterated his strong belief in the vir-
tues of steam power. Thereupon the Singapore
Chronicle remarked that it did not know how
its Malacca contemporary reconciled his con-
tempt of rhetoric " with the bold dash of it
contained in his assertion that a steam vessel
or two in the Straits would have the marvellous
effect of doubling the commerce of those settle-
ments." The Malacca journal retorted by
citing the fact that fifty years previously it
took more than a fortnight to go from London
to Edinburgh, while the proprietors of the
wagons used to advertise days previously
for passengers. "Now," he went on, "there
are no less than two thousand coaches which
daily leave and arrive at London from all parts
of the kingdom." He argued from this that
steam navigation, despite its costliness and the
difficulties which attended it, was bound to be
successful. While this lively polemic was

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

43

proceeding the Government of the settlements
had before it a serious proposal to provide a
steamer to maintain communication between
Pinang, Malacca, and Singapore. The sug-
gestion arose out of the difficulty of holding
the courts of quarter sessions at each of the
three ports at the regular periods enjoined in
the charter. Sir J. T. Claridge, the Recorder,
pointed out that if sailing vessels were used at
least two months of his time would be occupied
annually in travelling between the ports. He
urged that the solution of the difliculty was the
provision of a steamer, which would enable him
to do the journey from Pinang to Singapore in
three days, and to return viii Malacca in the
same period. The Supreme Government de-
clined to provide the steam vessel on the
ground that the cost would be prohibitive.
After this the question of steam navigation
slumbered for some years. When next it was
seriously revived it was in the form of a pro-
posal for a monthly service from Singapore to
Calcutta. A company was formed under the
name of the New Bengal Steam Fund, with
shares of Rs. 600 each. As many as 2,475
shares were taken up by 706 individuals, and
the project, with this substantial financial back-
ing, assumed a practical shape. Eventually, in
1841 the committee of the fund entered into an
agreement with the P. & O. Company, and
transferred its shares to that company. From
this period development of steam navigation
was rapid, until the point was reached at which
the Straits were traversed by a never-ending
procession of steam vessels bearing the flags of
all the great maritime nations of the world.

An early outcome of the establishment of
steam navigation in the Straits was the intro-
duction of a regular mail service. The first
contract for the conveyance of the mails was
made between the P. & O. Company and the
Government in 1845. Under the terms of this
arrangement the company contracted to
convey the mails from Ceylon to Pinang in
forty-five hours, and from thence to Singapore
in forty-eight hours. The first mail steamer
despatched under the contract was the Lady
Wood, which arrived at Singapore on
August 4, 1845, after an eight-day passage
from Point de Galle. She brought the mails
from London in the then marvellous time of
for-ty-one days. The first homeward mail was
despatched amid many felicitations on the
expedition which the new conditions made
possible in the carrying through of business
arrangements. Unhappily, before the mail
steamer had fairly cleared the harbour it was dis-
covered that the whole of the prepaid letters had,
through the blundering of some official, been
left behind. This contretemps naturally caused
much irritation, but eventually the community
settled down to a placid feeling of contentment
at the prospect which the mail system opened
up of rapid and regular intercourse with Europe
and China and the intermediate ports.

From time to time, as Singapore grew and
its revenues increased, attempts were made to
tamper with the system of Free Trade on
which its greatness had been built. As early
as 1829, when the temporary financial difficulty
created by the enforced suspension of the
Gaming Farm system necessitated a considera-
tion of the question of creating new sources

of revenue, we find Mr. Presgrave, who was
in temporary charge of the administration at
Singapore, suggesting a tax on commerce as
the only means of supplying the deficiency.
He expressed the view that such an impost
would not injure the rising commerce of the
island provided judicious arrangements were
made for exempting native trade from some of
those restrictive measures usually attendant on
custom-house regulations. "The policy of
exempting the trade from all impositions on
the first establishment of Singapore," he pro-
ceeded to say, " cannot, I imagine, be called
in question ; but as the trade has now passed
the stage of its infancy I am of opinion there
is little to apprehend from casting away the
leading strings."' The " leading strings " were,
fortunately, not cast away. The Supreme
Government was opposed to any change and
the Court of Directors, though not con-
spicuously endowed with foresight at this time,
were wise enough to realise that Singapore's
prosperity was bound up in its maintenance
as a free port. The re-establishment of the
Gaming Farm set at rest the question for the
time being ; but there was a fresh assault
made on the principle in 1836, when the
efforts for the suppression of piracy imposed a
burden upon the Supreme Government which
was disinclined to bear. The idea then
mooted was the levying of a special tax on
the trade of the three settlements to cover the
charges. A draft bill was submitted to Mr.
Murchison, the Resident, for his opinion, and
he in turn consulted the mercantile com-
munity. Their reply left no shadow of doubt
as to the unpopularity of the proposals. A
public meeting of protest, summoned by the
sheriff, held on February 4, 1836, passed
strongly worded resolutions of protest and
adopted a petition to Parliament to disallow
the scheme. In August, Lord Glenelg, the
Secretary for the Colonies, wrote saying that
the measure was deprecated by the Govern-
ment and would find no countenance from
them. In November the India Board directed
the Supreme Government to suspend the
proposals, if not enacted, and if enacted to
repeal them. The Indian authorities, defeated
on the question of a direct impost, in 1837
returned to the charge with a tonnage duty
on square-rigged vessels. The scheme came
to nothing at the time, but it was revived
about twenty years later. A protest was
promptly forwarded to the home authorities
from Singapore against the project. The
Court of Directors, on receiving this, wrote to
the Governor-General on March 25, 1857, to
inquire if there was any foundation for the
statement that dues were to be levied. "You
are doubtless avirare," the Court wrote, "that
when this subject was under our consideration
in the year 1825 we signified our entire appro-
bation of the abolition of port dues at Singa-
pore ; and that in the following year we
expressed our opinion that the establishment
of duties on imports and exports at that settle-
ment would be inexpedient. The success which
has hitherto attended the freedom of trade at
these ports has confirmed the opinion ex-
pressed to you in these despatches, and we
should deprecate the imposition of any burden
^ " Straits Settlements Records," Xo. 153.

on the commerce of the Straits Settlements
excepting under circumstances of urgent
necessity."

The Government of India replied that they
had no intention to impose customs duties at
Singapore. They explained that with regard
to the levy of port dues, after the Port Regu-
lation Act of 1855 was passed a request was
made to the Straits Government, in common
with other local administrations, for certain
information to enable the Government to
pass a supplementary Act for the regulation
of port due fees. On February 10, 1856,
the Governor of the Straits replied that if not
considered to interfere with the freedom of
the port he was inclined to agree with the
imposition of a due of half an anna per ton on
all square-rigged vessels, and would further
recommend that all native ships clearing out
of the harbour should pay a fee of two rupees
for junks and one rupee for boats of all
descriptions. " The amount so realised would,"
the Governor said, " provide for all present
expenses and enable us to do all that may be
necessary for the efficient management of the
harbours and their approaches." The de-
spatch pointed out that dues were abolished
at Singapore in 1823, not because they were
contrary to any sound principle, but because
they were unfairly assessed and were incon-
sidelable in amount. The strong expression
of opinion from the Court of Directors was
not without its effect. The scheme was con-
veniently' shelved, and amid the larger ques-
tions which speedily arose in connection with
the transfer of the government of India to the
Crown it was forgotten.

Apart from this matter of imposts on the
trade, there was from time to time serious
dissatisfaction with the control of the Govern-
ment of India of the settlement. In 1847
the discontent found vent in two petitions to
Parliament, one with reference to an Indian
Act (No. III. of 1847) transferring the appoint-
ment of police officers from the court of
judicature and quarter sessions to the Crown,
and the other asking that municipal funds
should be placed under the management of a
committee chosen by the ratepayers, which
had always been the case, but which practice
was rendered doubtful in the opinion of the
Recorder (Sir W. Norris) by another Act. An
able statement in support of the petition was
drawn up by Mr. John Crawfurd, a leading
citizen. The facts set forth in this document
constituted a very striking picture of the
progressive growth of the settlement. Mr.
Crawfurd wrote :

" The industry of the inhabitants of Singa-
pore has created the fund from which the
whole revenues are levied. This is made
evident enough when the fact is adverted to
that ■ eight-and-twenty years ago the island,
which has now fifty thousand inhabitants, was
a jungle with 150 Malay fishermen imbued
with a strong propensity to piracy and no
wealth at all, unless it were a little plunder. At
the present time the entire revenues may be
safely estimated at not less than ;£'5o,ooo per
annum, being equal to a pound sterling per
head, which is equal to about five-fold the
ratio of taxation yielded by the population of
Bengal.

44

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

"The revenues are divided into two
branches, although the division be in reality
little better than arbitrary — the general and the
police ; or taxes and rates. The first consists
of excise on wine, spirits, and opium ; of quit-
rents ; of the produce of the sale of wild
lands ; of fees and fines ; of postages, &c. The
second is a percentage on the rental of houses.
The general revenue amounted in 1845-46 in
round numbers to ^^14,000 and the local one to

industrv of the inhabitants — a fund wholly
created within the short period of twenty-eight
years. I cannot see, then, with what show of
reason it can be said that the Executive
Government pays the police, simply because it
is the mere instrument of disbursement."

Mr. Crawfurd went on to say that the
practice with respect to the colonies under the
Crown had of late years been rather to extend
than to curtail the privileges of the inhabitants.

BIVEB IN THE PRIMEVAL FOREST, JOHORE.

(From " Skizzen aus Singapur und Djohor.")

;£'7,ooo, making a total of £21,000— a sum
which, if expended with a just economy, ought
to be adequate to every purpose of government
in a small sea-girt island, with a population for
the most part concentrated in one spot.

" From this statement it is plain enough that
whether the police force is paid wholly out of
the police revenue or partly from the police
and partly from the general revenue, it must,
in any case, be paid out of the produce of the

and he expressed a hope that the East India
Company would be prepared to follow a course
" which, by conciliating the people, secures
harmony, strengthens the hands of the local
Government, and consequently contributes
largely to facilitate the conduct of the adminis-
tration.'' In this statement, as Mr. Buckley
suggests in his work, we have possibly the
commencement of the movement which led
twenty years afterwards to the transfer of the

settlements from the contiol of the Government
of India to that of the Colonial Office. How-
ever that may be, the mercantile community of
Singapore was unquestionably becoming less
and less disposed to submit their increasingly
important concerns to the sole arbitrament of
the prejudiced and sometimes ill-informed
bureaucracy of India.

One notable interest which was at this time
coming rapidly to the front was the planting
industry. One of Raffles's first concerns after
he had occupied the settlement was to stimu-
late agricultural enterprise. On his initiative
the foundations of a Botanical Department
were laid, and plants and seeds were distributed
from it to those settlers who desired to culti-
vate the soil. The first-fruits of the under-
taking were not encouraging. Compared with
Pinang, the settlement offered little attraction
to the planter. The soil was comparatively
poor, the labour supply limited, and the island
was largely an uncleared waste, ravaged by
wild beasts. Gradually, however, the best of
the land was taken up, and, aided by an
excellent climate, the various plantations
flourished. A statement prepared by the
Government surveyor in 1848 gives some
interesting particulars of the extent of the
cultivation and the results accruing from it.
There were at that time 1,190 acres planted
with 71,400 nutmeg-trees, the produce of which
in nutmegs and mace amounted to 656 piculs,
yielding an annual, value of 39,360 dollars.
There were 28 acres planted with clove-trees.
Coconut cultivation occupied 2,658 acres, the
number of trees being 342,608, and the produce
yielding a value of 10,800 dollars. Betel-nut
cultivation absorbed 445 acres, and upon this
area 128,281 trees were planted, yielding 1,030
dollars annually. Fruit trees Occupied 1,037
acres, and their produce was valued at 9,568
dollars. The gambler cultivation covered an
extent of 24,220 acres, and the produce was
valued at 80,000 dollars. The pepper culti-
vation was stated at 2,614 acres, yielding
108,230 dollars annually. Vegetable gardens
covered 379 acres, and the produce was stated
at 34,675 dollars. The siri or pawn vines
extended to 22 acres, and yielded 10,560 dollars,
while sugar-cane, pineapples, rice, or paddy
engrossed 1,962 acres, and the estimated
produce was valued at 32,386 dollars. The
quantity of ground under pasture was 402
acres, valued at 2,000 dollars annually. The
total gross annual produce of the island was
valued at 328,711 dollars.

.\t a later period the planting industry sus-
tained a disastrous check through the failure of
the crops consequent upon the exhaustion of
the soil. Many of the planters migrated to
better land across the channel in Johore, and
formed the nucleus of the great community
which flourishes there to-day.

In 1845 the question of providing dock
accommodation at Singapore was first seriously
broached. The proposal put forward was for a
dock 300 feet long, 68 feet wide, and 15 feet
deep, to cost 80,000 dollars. Inadequate support
was accorded to the scheme, and the question
slumbered until a good many years later, when
the famous Tanjong Pagar Dock Company
came into existence and commenced the great
undertaking, which was taken over by the

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

45

Government in 1906 at a cost to the colpny of
nearly three and a half million pounds.

The dock scheme was suggested by the
growing trade flowing through the Straits, with
Singapore as an almost inevitable port of call.
Identical circumstances led irresistibly a few
years later to an eager discussion of the prac-
tical aspects of telegraphic communication.
The authorities had outgrown the earlier
attitude which saw " no rational use " for a
telegraphic system in Singapore, but they were
still very far from realising the immense
imperial potentialities which centred in an
efficient cable system. When the subject vi'as
first mooted in a practical way in 1858 by the
launching of a scheme by Mr. W. H. Reed for
the extension of the Indian telegraph lines to
Singapore, China, and Australia, the Australian
colonies took the matter up warmly, and
promised a subsidy of ;f35,ooo for thirty years,
and the Dutch Government, not less enthu-
siastic, offered a subsidy of ;£8,Soo for the
same period. But the Home Government
resolutely declined to assist, and though re-
peated deputations waited upon it on the
subject, it refused to alter its policy. Never-
theless the project was proceeded with, and on
November 24, 1859, Singapore people had the
felicity of seeing the first link forged in the
great system of telegraphic communication
that now exists by the opening of the electric
cable between Singapore and Batavia. Con-
gratulatory messages were exchanged, and the
community were getting used to the experience
of having their messages flashed across the
wire, when there were ominous delays due to
injuries caused to the cable either by the
friction of coral rocks or by anchors of vessels
dropped in the narrow straits through which
the line passed. Not for a considerable time
was the system placed on a perfectly satisfactory
basis. In 1866 a new scheme was started for a
line of telegraphs from Rangoon through Siam
to Singapore, from Malacca through Sumatra,
Java, and the Dutch islands to Australia, and
through Cochin China to China. This project
was not more favoured with official counten-
ance than the earlier one, and it remained for
private interests alone to initiate and carry
through the remarkable system by which
Singapore was brought into touch wilh every
part of the civilised world by its cables
radiating from that point.

In political as in commercial matters the
policy of the East India Company in relation
to the Straits Settlements was narrow-minded
and lacking in foresight. In some cases it
showed an even more objectionable quality — it
was unjust. It is difficult to find in the whole
range of the history of British dealings with
Asiatic races a more flagrant example of
wrong-doing than the treatment of the Sultan
of Kedah, or Quedah, from whom we obtained
the grant of the island of Pinang. The story
is told in the section of the work dealing with
Pinang, and it is only necessary to say here
that, having obtained a valuable territorial
grant under conditions agreed to by its repre-
sentative, and tacitly accepted by itself, the
Government declined to carry out those condi-
tions when circumstances seemed to make rati-
fication inexpedient. At Singapore an almost
exact parallel to the Company's action, or, to

speak correctly, inaction in this instance, was
furnished in its dealings with the Sultan Tunku
All, the son of Sultan Husein, who, jointly with
the Dato' Temenggong Abdul Rahman, had
ceded the island to the British Government in
1819. Sir Frank Swettenham is at great pains
in his book to unravel the rather tangled facts,
and it is with a sense of humiliation that they
must be read by every self-respecting Briton

small account, but the influx of Chinese planters
created a revenue, and it became important to
know to whom that revenue should be paid.
Governor Butterworth, in a communication to
the Supreme Government of October 21, 1846,
spoke of the Temenggong having " irregu-
larly " collected the small revenue — an impost
on timber — previously existing, and recom-
mended that the proceeds of an opium farm

PATH IN THE PRIMEVAL FOHBST, JOHORE.
(From " Skizzen aus Singapur und Djohor.")

who values the name of his country for fair
dealing. The narrative is too long to give in
detail here, but briefly it may be said that the
dispute turned on the respective rights of the
Sultan and the Temenggong. The controversy
directly arose out of a request made by Tunku
Ali that he should be installed as Sultan of
Johore. The matter first assumed importance
in the early days of the Chinese migration to
Johore. Before that Johore was a territory of

just established should be equally divided
between the two. Accompanying this -letter
and recommendation was an application which
had been made by Tunku Ali that he should be
acknowledged and installed as Sultan. The
reply of the Government was to the effect that
"unless some political advantage could be
shown to accrue from the measure the Honour-
able the President in Council declined to adopt
it." In 1852 the question was again raised by

46

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

MK E. A. Blundell, who was ofticiating as
Governor at the time. This functionary ex-
pre;ssed his inability to find any ground of
expediency to justify the step, but he strongly
urged the impolicy of allowing " such an
apparently clear and undisputed claim " as
that of Tunku Ali to remain any longer in
abeyance. An unfavourable reply was given
by the Supreme Government to the proposal.
Mr. Blundell, undeterred by this, raised the
matter afresh in a letter dated January 14,
1853. In this communication Mr. Blundell re-
affiritied with emphasis the justice of Tunku
All's claims to recognition, and intimated that
he had induced both the Sultan and the
Temenggong to agree to an arrangement
under which the reveime, calculated at 600
dollars ^ej» mensem, should be divided between
the two for a period of three years, at the ex-
piration of which time a new calculation should
be made. The Supreme Government on March
4, 1853, sent a curious answer to Mr. Blundell's
proposal of compromise. They intimated that
they had no concern with the relations between
the Sultan and the Temenggong, but that " if
the arbitration in question should be proposed
and the Temenggong should be willing to
purchase entire sovereignty by a sacrifice of
revenue in favour of the Sultan, the Governor-
General in Council conceives that the measure
would be a beneficial one to all parties.''
There was, of course, no question of the
Temenggong purchasing entire sovereignty by
a sacrifice of revenue. What had been sug-
gested was an amicable agreement as to reve-
nues of which the Sultan had hitherto been, to
adopt Colonel Butterworth's phrase, " irregu-
larly " deprived. Broadly speaking, however,
the despatch may be accepted as sanctioning
the proposal put forward by Mr. Blundell. An
mterval of some months elapsed after the
receipt of the communication, and when the
subject again figures on the records it assumes
a different aspect. Colonel Butterworth, who
had been away on leave, finding Tunku Ali
" entangled with an European merchant at
Singapore," declined to arbitrate, and went to
Pinang. Afterwards negotiations apparently
were carried on by Mr. Church, the Resident
Councillor, and finally, as an outcome of them,
a proposal was submitted to the Supreme
Government that Tunku Ali should be installed
as Sultan, should be allowed to retain a small
strip of territory known as Kesang Muar, in
which the graves of his ancestors were situated,
that he should receive S,ooo dollars in cash, and
that he should be paid 500 dollars a month in
perpetuity. In consideration of these conces-
sions he was to renounce absolutely all sove-
reign rights in Johore. After a considerable
amount of negotiation between the parties
these terms were embodied in a treaty dated
March 10, 1855, which Tunku Ali reluctantly
signed. Sir Frank Swettenham, whose sym-
pathies are very strongly displayed on the side
of the Sultan, significantly mentions that the
annual revenues of Johore "have amounted to
over a million dollars for some years, and they
are now probably about 1,200,000 dollars, or,
say, ;^i40,ooo." The later phases of this dis-
agreeable episode may be related in his words.
" Sultan Ali is dead, and his son would still be
in receipt of 500 dollars a month from Johore

(originally about ;£r,200 a year), but the district
of Muar has also passed away from him and
his family to the Temenggong's successors.
When that further transfer took place about
twenty years ago, the allowance was by the
efforts of Governor Sir Wm. Robinson raised
to 1,250 dollars a month, divided amongst the
late Sultan's family. Lastly, it must be noted
that, though the second condition in the terms
submitted by the Temenggong on April 3,
1854, read, ' Tunku Ali, his heirs and successors to
be recognised as Sultan of Johore,' the son and
heir of Sultan Ali was never more than Tunku
Alam, while the son and heir of the Temeng-
gong became ' the Sultan of the state and terri-
tory of Johore,' and that is the title held by his
grandson, the present Sultan. The grandson
of Sultan Ali is to-day Tunku Mahmud. If
Sultan Ali sold his birthright in 1855 to secure
the recognition of his title by the Government
of India he made a poor bargain. The Govern-
ment of India loftily disclaimed any concern
with the relations between the Sultan and the
Temenggong ; however indifferent the plea, it
is one to which neither the local nor the British
Government can lay any claim in their subse-
quent proceedings."

CHAPTER VI.

Establishment or the Crown Colony

SYSTE.M..

Whilk this act of injustice was being perpe-
trated the sands of the Indian government of
the Straits Settlements were running out. In
the two and a half centuries of its connection
with the archipelago the East India Company
had never shown conspicuous judgment in its
dealings with its possessions. Its successes
were achieved in spite of its policy rather than
because of it, and if there is one thing more
certain than another about these valuable pos-
sessions of the Crown, it is that they would not
be to-day under the British flag if the govern-
ing power, represented by the autocracy of
Leadenhall Street, had had their way. The
failings of the system did not diminish with
age ; rather they developed in mischievous
strength as the settlement grew and flourished.
The mercantile community chafed for years
under the restrictions, financial and adminis-
trative, imposed upon the colony. At length, on
the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny, the feeling
burst out into an open movement for the trans-
fer of the administration from the Government
of India to the Crown. The petition presented
to the House of Commons in 1858 as a result
of the agitation based the desire for a change
in the system of administration on the syste-
matic disregard of the wants and wishes of the
inhabitants by the Government of India, and
the disposition of the Calcutta authorities to
treat all questions from an exclusively Indian
point of view. It was pointed out that the
settlements were under the control of a
Governor appointed by the Governor-General.
" Without any council to advise or assist him,
this officer has paramount authority within the
settlements, and by his reports and suggestions
the Supreme Government and Legislative
Council are in a great measure guided in

dealing with the affairs of these settlements.
It may, and indeed does in reality frequently,
happen that this functionary, from caprice,
temper, or defective judgment, is opposed to
the wishes of the whole community, yet in any
conflict of opinion so arising his views are
almost invariably, adopted by the Supreme
Government upon statements and representa-
tions which the public have no knowledge of
and no opportunity of impugning." The me-
morialists pointed out that measures of a most
obnoxious and harmful character had been
introduced by the Government of India, and
had only been defeated by the direct appeal of
the inhabitants to the authorities at home.
Moreover, Singapore had been made a dump-
ing ground for the worst class of convicts from
continental India, and these, owing to the
imperfect system of discipline maintained,
exercised a decidedly injurious influence on
the community. In a statement appended to
the report it was shown that, exclusive of dis-
bursements for municipal purposes, the expen-
diture in 1855-56 amounted tO;^i3i,375, against
an income of ;^i03,i87, but it was shown that
the deficiency was more than accounted for by
charges aggregating ;£'75,358 imposed for mili-
tary, marine, and convict establishments —
" charges which are never made against a
local reveime in a royal colony."

Lord Canning, in a despatch discussing the
question raised by the petition, wrote in favour
of the change. The only object which he
could conceive for maintaining the govern-
ment of the Straits Settlements on its then
footing was to have all the possessions in the
East under one control. But, he pointed out,
this consideration was quite as applicable to
Ceylon, which had not in recent times been
under the Government of India. He went at
length into the whole question of the transfer,
and then summarised his views in this form :
" I consider it to be established, first, that no
good and sufficient reasons now exist for con-
tinuing the Straits Settlements on their present
footing ; secondly, that very strong reasons
exist for withdrawing them from the control of
the Indian Government and transferring them
to the Colonial Office ; and, thirdly, that there
are no objections to the transfer which should
cause her Majesty's Government to hesitate in
adopting a measure calculated to be so advan-
tageous to the settlements themselves." The
Indian Government asked to be reimbursed
the cost of new recently erected barracks for
European troops ; but the Home Government
objected to this, and the point was waived by
the Indian authorities. Even then the Imperial
Government were not at all eager to accept the
charge. They haggled over the cost which, in
their shortsighted vision, the settlements were
likely to impose upon the imperial exchequer.
The Duke of Newcastle, the then Colonial
Secretary, in a despatch on the subject, esti-
mated the probable deficiency in the revenue at
from ^30,000 to ;^5o,ooo. But in his calculation
was included an extravagant contribution for
military purposes. It did not dawn upon the
sapient rulers of that day that there was an
imperial interest in maintaining a fortress at
the entrance to the Straits of Malacca through
which the world's trade from the West to the
East passes. It was left to Lord Beaconsfield,

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

47

in an eloquent passage of a memorable speech,
to bring home to the people of Great Britain
the vast strategic value of Singapore.

The financial doubts raised by the Home
Government led to the despatch to the Straits of
Sir Hercules Robinson (afterwards Lord Ros-
mead) to investigate on the spot a point which
really should have been plain enough if the
Colonial Office had been endowed with ordi-
nary discernment. Sir Hercules Robinson's
report was favourable, and the Government,
acting upon it, passed through Parliament in
the session of 1866 a measure legalising the
status of the three settlements as a Crown
colony, under a governor aided by a legislative
council of the usual Crown colony type. The
actual transfer was made on April i, 1867. It
was preceded by some rather discreditable
blundering in reference to the executive. The
arrangement made between the India and the
Colonial Offices was that all uncovenanted
officials should remain, but that the covenanted
servants should revert to their original appoint-
ments in India.

The functionaries concerned were not for-
mally notified of the change, but were left to
gather the information from the newspapers.
Even then they did not know the conditions
under which their transfer was to be carried
out. The question was raised in the House of
Commons on March 8, 1867. In the course of
the discussion Mr. John Stuart Mill commented
severely on the action of the Government in
withdrawing these experienced officials at a
time when their knowledge of local affairs
would be of great value. " He wanted to
know what the colonial system was. He
hoped and trusted there was no such thing.
How could there be one system for the govern-
ment of Demerara, Mauritius, the Cape of
Good Hope, Ceylon, and Canada ? What was
the special fitness of a gentleman who had
been employed in the administration of the
affairs of one of those colonies for the govern-
ment of another of which he knew nothing,
and in regard to which his experience in other
places could supply him with no knowledge ?
What qualifications had such a man that should
render it necessary to appoint him to transact
business of which he knew nothing" in the
place of gentlemen who did understand it, and
who had been carrying it on, not certainly upon
the- Indian system, and he believed upon no
system whatever but the Straits Settlements
system ?'"' As a result probably of this protest
the arrangement for the withdrawal of the
old officials was not carried out. But the
Government, instead of appointing as the
first Governor some man acquainted with the
peculiar conditions of the Straits, sent out as
head of the new administration Colonel Sir
Harry Ord, C.B., an officer of the corps of
Royal Engineers, whose administrative experi-
ence had been gained chiefly on the West
Coast of Africa. Though an able man, Sir
Harry Ord lacked the qualities essential for
dealing with a great mercantile community.
He was autocratic, brusque, and contemptuously
indifferent to public opinion. Moreover, he
had an extravagant sense of what was necessary
to support the dignity of his office, and rushed
the colony into expenditure which was in
excess of what it ought to have been called

SIR HAEBY OBD..

(First Governor of the Straits Settlements under the
Crown Colony system. Taken at Government
House. Singapore, in 1869.)

region of small commercial importance. The
penalty of our shortsightedness in making the
bargain was paid in the Ashanti War, and it is
small consolation to reflect that the Dutch on
their side have found the transaction even less
advantageous, since they have been involved
in practically continuous warfare with the
Achinese ever since. Sir Harry Ord erred in
this matter and in others of less importance
through a blindness to the great imperial
interests which centre in the Straits. But it
must be conceded that his vigorous administra-
tion, judged from the standpoint of finance, was
brilliantly successful. When he assumed office
the colony was, as we have seen, not paying
its way, and there was so little prospect of its
doing so that the Home Government hesitated
to assume the burden. On the conclusion of
his term of office the revenue of the settlements
exceeded the expenditure by a very respectable
sum. His administration, in fact, marked the
turning-point in the history of the Straits.
From that period the progress of the colony
has been continuous, and the teasing doubts of
timid statesmen have changed to a feeling of
complacent satisfaction at the contemplation of
balance-sheets indicative of an enduring pros-
perity.

Some facts and figures may here be ap-
propriately introduced to illustrate the mar-
vellous development of the settlements since
the introduction of Crown government. The
financial and trade position is clearly shown
in the following table given in Sir Frank
Swettenham's work and brought up to date
by the inclusion of the latest figures :

Expenditure in
Dollars.

Trade.

Year.

Revenue in Dollars.

Value of Imports

Value of E.xports

ill Dollars.

in Dollars.

1868

1,301,843

1,197,177

42,1)9,708

37,993.856

1869

1,313.046

1,164,354

43.986,222

40,583,^2

1870

1,378,748

1,259,376

54,449,388

47,989,9.S3

1871

1,405,703

1,254,111

56,016,661

51,807,601

1872

1,536,274

1,296,311

63,650,222

62,149,329

1873

1,502,094

1,415,828

64,795,135

60,312,143

1874

1,458,782

1,679,210

67.117,979

62,643,195

I«75

1,538,854

1,805,229

63,137,716

62,493,328

1880

2,361,300

2,038,947

83,718.103

78,051,739

1883

3,508,074

3,593.149

110,356.71.6

100,513,222

iSgo

4,269,125

3,757,691

147,297,317

127,923,682

1895

4,048,360

3,782,456

198.218,306

172,974,953

1900

5,3«6,557

6,030,744

314,089,860

262,617,345

1904

10,746,518

10,848,989

383,942,088

326,193,851

1905

11,657,424

10,980,391

332,233,916

282,960,785

upon to bear. His worst defect, however, was
his ignorance of Malay affairs. Knowing
nothing of the special conditions of the archi-
pelago and of the peculiar characteristics of the
inhabitants of the colony, he perpetrated many
blunders which a man differently equipped
would have avoided. His worst mistake was
his support of the exchange of our interests in
Sumatra for Dutch concessions which made us
masters of the inhospitable wastes of the Gold
Coast in West Africa. By this transfer we
renounced rights centuries old in one of the
richest island, of the tropics for the dubious
privilege of exercising supremacy over hostile
tribes and a dominion over a fever-stricken

After the grant of Crown government to the
settlements the administration broadened out
into a system which, as years went by, became
more and more comprehensive of the interests
of Malaya. In other sections of the work will
be found a detailed description of the origin
and growth of the existing arrangements by
which to the government of the three original
settlements is added the control of the Protected
Malay States, a vast territory rich in mineral
and agricultural wealth and of high future com-
mercial promise. All that it is necessary to
note here is that the marvellous development
of this important area had its natural influence
on the trade of Singapore as the chief port of

48

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

the Straits. Another and slill more potent
factor was the opening of the Suez Canal and
the consequent impetus given to steam naviga-
tion. In 1868 the tonnage of Singapore was
1,300,000 ; twenty years later it had increased
to 6,200,000 ; and to-day, after another twenty
years, it is over 13,000,000 tons. The popula-
tion of the city has shown an equally remarkable
increase. In 1857 an official return issued by
the Supreme Government placed the number of
the inhabitants at 57,421. Each successive year
there was a large accession to the number of
inhabitants until 1881, when the census showed
a population of 139,308. . Ten years later the
number of inhabitants had risen to 184,554, ^"d
in 1901 the return gave a population of 228,555.
To-day the population of Singapore is estimated
to be above 250,000, or nearly five times what
it was fifty years since. Remarkable as the
growth of the port has been in the past, its
progress seems likely to be not less rapid in the
future. Sir Frank Swettenham anticipates the
time when Singapore will have at least a
million inhabitants. As it is, the port — in the
volume of its trade — is the largest in the British
Empire next to London, Liverpool, and Hong-
kong. Side by side with commercial progress
there has been a steady growth in municipal
efficiency. The history of the municipality is
treated in detail elsewhere, but it may be noted
here that the municipal revenue, which in 1859
amounted to 90,407 dollars against disburse-
ments totalling 129,396 dollars, in 1905 reached
the enormous sum of 2,149,951 dollars, as com-
pared with an expenditure of 2,158,645 dollars.
In the five years ending 1905 the municipal
income was almost doubled.

A question hotly debated for a good many
years in the Straits was the contribution exacted
by the Imperial Government from the colony
for miUtary defence. The view of the settle-
ments, as a purely local territory which had
obtained in the years of the East India
Company's administration was one which
Whitehall adopted with complacency, and
forthwith it proceeded to charge against the
revenues of the colony the very heavy cost of
maintaining a garrison which, if it had any
raison d'etre at all, was placed where it was
to uphold imperial as distinct from colonial
interests. When the Imperial Government
assumed the control of the colony the annual
contribution of the colony towards the military
expenses was fixed at ;^5o,r45. At or about
this figure it remained until 1889, when, follow-
ing upon the completion of an extensive system
of fortification associated with the general
scheme of protecting naval coaling stations
abroad, the Colonial Office presented a
peremptory demand for the increase of the
contribution to £100,000. There was a feeling
akin to consternation in the settlements at the
action of the imperial authorities. With a
rapidly falling exchange and a practically
stationary revenue, the doubling of the mili-
tary contribution constituted a grievous burden
upon the colony. The payment of the larger
sum m.eant the complete stoppage of many
useful works urgently needed in the develop-
ment of the settlements. Alarmed at the
prospect which was opened up, and irritated
at the despotic manner in which the change
was introduced, the mercantile community of

Singapore set on foot a vehement agitation
against the proposal^ Official opinion in the
colony was in strong sympathy with the
movement, but the terms of the despatch of
Lord Knutsford, the Secretary for the Colonies,
in which the demand was preferred gave the
local government no option in the matter.
Accordingly on February 13, i8go, the neces-
sary resolution to give effect to the Home
Government's views was introduced in the
Legislative Council and passed. The circum-
stances under which the vote was sanctioned,
however, left no doubt as to the view taken by
official and non-official members alike. While
the latter delivered strenuous protests against
the action of the Imperial Government and
voted without exception against the resolution,
the former maintained an eloquent silence.
The official reticence was confined to the
debate. When the proceedings of the Council
were sent home the Governor, Sir Clementi
Smith, accompanied them with a powerfully
reasoned plea against the increase, and this
was supplemented by minutes of the same tenor
from other members of the Government.

LORD CANNING, VICEROY OF INDIA.

Though hopelessly worsted in argument.
Lord Knutsford declined to be moved from
his position. He brushed aside with a few
out-of-date quotations of earlier opinions of
Straits people the view emphatically asserted
in the communications he had received that
Singapore is a great imperial outpost, the
maintenance of which in a state of military
efficiency is an imperial rather than a local
concern. The Government, he said, did not
think that the contribution was excessive or
beyond what the colony could easily pay, and
they would make no abatement in the demands
already made. On the receipt of the despatch
(of January 10, 1891) embodying this decision
of the Colonial Office to persist in their ex-
tortionate claim, the fires of agitation were
kindled with new vigour in Singapore. When
the votes came up at the Legislative Council
for sanction on March 5, 1891, strong language
was used by the non-official members in

characterising the attitude assumed by the
Home Government on the question. One
speaker declared that the interests of the
colony were being "betrayed" ; another re-
inarked "that this colony should be condemned
literally to groan under a curse inflicted upon
it by a handful of people utterly ignorant of
the conditions of our society is a disgrace to
civilised government " ; while a third reminded
her Majesty's Government "that loyalty is a
hardy plant which asks for a fair field and no
favour ; it withers under injustice." Once
more a great number of protests were poutgd
into the Colonial Office against the demand.
The only jarring note to the chorus of con-
demnatory criticism was supplied by Sir
Charles Warren, the officer commanding the
troops, who took the view that the Singapore
people got good value for their money in the
military protection afforded them and were
quite able to bear the burden. Lord Knutsford,
entrenched behind the ramparts raised by an
exacting Treasury, still declined to make any
reduction in the contribution. He promised,
however, that " if unfortunately the revenues
of the colony should decrease," her Majesty's
Government would be prepared to review the
situation. The revenues of the colony un-
fortunately did decrease in 1890 and in 1891
as compared with 1889, and promptly a request
was preferred to the Colonial Office for the
redemption of the pledge.

After a considerable amount of additional
controversy and ^ vigorous agitation of the
question both in the Straits and at home,
the Marquess of Ripon, who had succeeded
Lord Knutsford as Colonial Secretary on the
change of Government, in a despatch dated
November 6, 1894, announced that the Govern-
ment were prepared to reduce the colonial
contribution to ;£8o,ooo for 1894 and £90,000
for 1895. At the same time it was intimated
that the contributions for the years 1896-97-98
were provisionally fixed at £100,000, £110,000,
and £120,000. This re-arrangement of the
contributions left the ultimate liability pre-
cisely where it was, and not unnaturally the
colony emphatically declined to accept Lord
Ripon's view that " sensible relief " had been
afforded. A further period of agitation fol-
lowed, culminating as a final protest in the
resignation of three members of the Legislative
Council, of eighteen justices of the peace, and
of the whole of the members of the Chinese
Advisory Board — an important body which is a
link between the Government and the Chinese
community. This dramatic action convinced
the Imperial Government at length that the
inhabitants of the Straits Settlements were in
earnest in their determination not to submit to
the burden of the heavy military contribution.
In a despatch dated June 28, 1895, Lord Ripon
intimated that the Government were prepared
lo settle the question of a military contribution
on the basis of an annual payment equivalent
to 17J per cent, of the total revenue of the
colony. In this arrangement the colonists
were compelled perforce to acquiesce. But
they have never acknowledged the justice of
the principle upon which the payment is fixed.
The imperial authorities on their part have
every reason to congratulate themselves on the
change introduced in the method of assessing

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

49

the payment, for the military contribution in
1905 was 1,(511,585 dollars— practically double
the amount which the colonists regarded as
so excessive.

Singapore's development as a great imperial
outpost and commercial entrepot is proceeding
on lines commensurate with the magnificence
of its strategical position and the vastness of its
trade. The acquisition by Government of the
Tanjong Pagar Dock Company's property in
circumstances which are fully dealt with else-
where in these pages has strengthened the
naval position enormously by providing under
absolute Government control a base for the
refitting and repair of the largest vessels of
his Majesty's navy in Far Eastern seas. On
the purely commercial side an equally im-
portant step forward has been taken by the
acceptance of the tender of Sir John Jackson,
Ltd., for the construction of new harbour
works involving an immediate expenditure of
about a million and a quarter sterling. With
these striking evidences that the importance of

Singapore both for imperial and trade purposes
is fully realised in the highest quarters, there is
every reason to hope that its future will be one
of uninterrupted and ever-increasing prosperity.
It has been said that \ou cannot set limits to
the march of a nation. He would be a wise
man who would set limits to the march of
Singapore. With the great markets of China
still to be opened up to trade, and with the
Malay countries only as yet in the first stage
of their development, it may very well be that
the port, phenomenal as its past progress has
been, is only on the threshold of its career.
Certainly nothing short of a calamity which will
paralyse the trade of the world is likely to put
a period to its advancement to a position in
the very first rank of the cities of the Empire.

.A.S we began this historical survey of Singa-
pore with a reference to its great founder, so
we may appropriately end it by quoting the
eloquent words used by Sir Frederick Weld,
the then Governor of the Straits Settlements, in
unveiling the Raffles statue at Singapore on

the occasion of the Jubilee celebration in [887.
" Look around," said his Excellency, " and a
greater monument than any that the highest art
or the most lavish outlay can raise to Raffles is
visible in this, that his name is still held in
affectionate veneration by all our races, that all
acknowledge the benefits that have resulted
from his wise policy. See that crowd of
splendid shipping in the harbour in front of
his statue. Cast a glance at the city which
surrounds it, on the evidences of civilisation —
churches, public buildings and offices, law
courts, educational establishments — in the
vicinity of this spacious recreation ground on
which we stand and near which he landed.
Were this all, it would be still sufficient to say.
Si motnunentum qiiceris circumspicc. But this
is only a small part of the monument. Look
for it in other parts of the colony. Look for it
in the native States. . . . Look for it in the con-
stantly increasing influence of the British rtame
in these parts, and j'ou will say with me that in
Raffles England had one of her greatest sons."

PINANQ (INCLUDING PROVINCE WELLESLEY AND THE DINDINQS).

CHAPTER I.
The Foundation of the Settlement.

PINANG, like Singapore, owes its existence
as a British possession mainly to the
statesmanlike foresight, energy, and diplomatic
resourcefulness of one man. Raffles's prototype
and predecessor in the work of Empire-building
in the Straits was Francis Light, a bold and
original character, who passed from the
position of trader and sea captain to that of
administrator by one of those easy transitions
which marked the history of the East India
Company in the eighteenth century. Light
was born at Dallinghoo, in Suffolk, on Decem-
ber 15, 1740. His parentage is somewhat
obscure, though the presumption is that he
came of a good stock, for he claimed as a
relative William Negus, son of Colonel Francis
Negus, who held high office in the court of
George I., and who was the owner of extensive
estatesatDallinghoo and Melton. Light received
his early education at the Woodbridge Grammar
School, and afterwards was sent into the navy,
serving as midshipman on H.M.S. Arrogant.
In 1765 he quitted the service and went out to
India, to seek his fortune, after the manner of
many well-bred young men of that day.
.Arrived at Calcutta, he was given the command
of a ship trading between India, Lower Siam,
and the Malay port^. From that time forward
he found practically exclusive employment in
the Straits trade. An excellent linguist, he
speedily acquired the Siamese and Malay
languages, and through their medium, assisted
no doubt by the sterling integrity of his char-
acter, he won the confidence of the native
chiefs. His headquarters for a good many
years were at Salang, or Junk Ceylon, as it
was then known, a large island on the north-
west side of the peninsula. Here he lived
amongst the Malay population, honoured and
respected. The ties of intimacy thus formed

with the native population brought abundant
fruit in a prosperous trade and, what is more
to our immediate purpose, a close personal
knowledge of native politics. Experience of
the Straits taught him, as it taught Raffles a
good many years later, that if British influence
was to hold its own against Dutch exclusive-
ness a more efficient and central settlement
than Bencoolen must be found. Impressed

WABEBN HASTINGS.
(From a portrait in the National Portrait Gallery.)

with this idea he, in 1771, laid a definite pro-
posal before Warren Hastings, the then
Governor-General, for the acquisition of
Pinang as "a convenient magazine for Eastern
trade." The great man had already, in his
statesmanlike vision, seen the necessity of
planting the British flag more firmly in this
sphere of the Company's influence. But for
some reason Light's proposal was coldly re-
ceived. Undismayed by the rebuff. Light
continued to press the importance of establish-
ing a new settlement, and in 1780 he proceeded

to Calcutta to lay before Hastings a definite
scheme for the creation of a British port on
Salang. The illustrious administrator received
him kindly, and probably would have fallen in
with his views had not the outbreak of war
with the French and the Dutch diverted his
attention to more pressing issues. The matter
was shelved for some years, and then Mr.
Kinloch was despatched by the Supreme
Government to Achin to attempt to found a
settlement in that part of the Straits. The mis-
sion was an entire failure owing to the hostile
attitude assumed by the natives. Light chanced
to be in Calcutta on Mr. Kinloch's return, and
he seized the opportunity afforded by the con-
tretemps of again pressing the desirability of
the acquisition of Pinang upon the attention
of the authorities. In a communication on the
subject dated February 15, 1786, he pointed out
to the Government that the Dutch had been so
active in their aggression that there was no
place left to choose from but Junk Ceylon,
.A.chin, and Quedah (Kedah). He went on to
show that .\chin could not be adopted without
subduing all the chiefs, and that if Junk Ceylon
were chosen it would take six or seven years
to clear the jungle sufficiently to furnish enough
produce to supply the needs of the fleet, though
the island was rich in minerals and could be
easily fortified. There remained for considera-
tion Quedah, or (as in deference to modern
spelling we had better call it) Kedah, and in
regard to this situation Light stated that he
was able to report that the Sultan of Kedah
had agreed to cede the island of Pinang. He
enclosed a letter from the Sultan, in which the
chief set forth the terms upon which he was
willing to make the cession. The communica-
tion was as follows : —

"Whereas Captain Light, Dewa Raja, came
here and informed me that the Rajah of Bengal
ordered him to request Pulau Pinang from me
to make an English settlement, where the

60

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

agents of the Company might reside for the
purpose of trading and building ships of war to
protect the island and to cruise at sea, so that if
any enemies of ours from the east or the west

COL. ■WILLIAM LIGHT, SON OP THE

FOUNDER OF PINANG.

(From a portrait in the National Portrait Gallery.)

should come to attack us the Company would
regard them as enemies also and fight them, and
all the expenses of such wars shall be borne by
the Company. All ships, junks or prows, large

and small, which come from the east or the
west and wish to enter the Kedah river to trade
shall not be molested or obstructed in any way
by the Company, but all persons desirous of
coming to trade with us shall be allowed to do
as they please ; and at Pulau Pinang the
same.

" The articles of opium, tin, and rattans are
monopolies of our own, and the rivers Muda,
Prai and Krian are the places from whence tin,
rattans, cane, besides other articles, are obtained.
When the Company's people, therefore, shall
reside at Pulau Pinang, I shall lose the benefit
of this monopoly, and I request the captain will
explain this to the Governor-General, and beg, as
a compensation for my losses, 30,000 dollars a
year to be paid annually to me as long as the
Company reside at Pulau Pinang. I shall permit
the free export of all sorts of provisions, and
timber for shipbuilding.

"Moreover, if any of the agents of the Com-
pany make loans or advances to any of the
nobles, chiefs, or rajahs of the Kedah country,
the Company shall not hold me responsible for
any such advances. Should any one in this
country become my enemy, even my own
children, all such shall be considered as enemies
also of the Company ; the Company shall not
alter their engagements of alliance so long as
the heavenly bodies continue to perform their
revolutions ; and when any enemies attack us
from the interior, they also shall be considered
as enemies of the Company. I request from the
Company men and powder, shot, arms, large
and small, also money for the purpose of

carrying on the war, and when the business is
settled I will repay the advances. Should these
propositions be considered proper and acceptable
to the Governor-General, he may send a confi-
dential agent to Pulau Pinang to reside ; but if
the Governor-General does not approve of the
terms and conditions of this engagement let
him not be oflfended with me. Such are my
wishes to be made known to the Company, and
this treaty must be faithfully adhered to till the
most distant times."

The Government were impressed, as well they
might be, with the facts and the letter brought
to their notice by Light, and in a little more
than a week from the receipt of his communi-
cation the Governor-General formally expressed
his approval of the scheme for the setllement of
Pinang on the terms outlined. The Govern-
ment themselves appear to have earlier un-
successfully endeavoured to obtain a grant of
the island from the Sultan, and there were many
speculations at the time as to the means by
which Light had succeeded where the
authorities had failed. Out of the gossip of the
period arose a romantic but quite apocryphal
story that Light had received the island as a
dower with his bride, who was a daughter of
the Sultan. Light had certainly married a
daughter of the country a few years before this
period in the person of Martina Rozells, a ladv
of Siamese-Portuguese or Malay-Portuguese
descent, but she was not related to the Raja of
Kedah, and she was not a princess. Romance,
however, dies hard, and so it is that the tradi-
tion of royal ancestry for Light's descendants

PULO PINANG EARLY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
(Sketch by Captain R. Elliott, R.X., published in Fisher's " Views in India China, and the Shores of the Red Sea.")

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

51

has been handed down until we meet with it in
an official publication so recent as the last
catalogue of the National Portrait Gallery,
where Colonel Light, the founder of Adelaide,
Francis Light's eldest son, is described as
"Son of a commander in the Indian navy and
a Malayan princess."

Light, having convinced the authorities that
the time had come for action, found them eager
to carry the negotiations through with as little
delay as possible. Early in May, 1786, he
sailed from Calcutta with definite instructions
to complete the engagement with the Sultan of
Kedah for the cession of Pinang. He reached
Kedah Roads near Alor Star on June 29th, and
landed on the following morning under a salute
from the fort and three volleys from the
marines. A leading official received him, and
from him he learned that war was proceeding
between Siam and Burma, and that the Sultan
feared that he himself might be involved.
Light re-embarked and landed again on the ist
of July in due slate. There was some little
delay in his reception by the Sultan, owing to
the state officials demurring to the presents
which Light brought on the ground of their in-
adequacy. Eventually, on the 3rd of July Light
was ushered into the Sultan's presence. He
found him greatly troubled at a passage in the
Governor-General's letter which seemed to him
to threaten pains and penalties if the arrange-
ment was not made. Light diplomatically
smoothed the matter over, and the treaty was
duly signed, subject to the approval of the

authorities in London. On the loth of July
Light took leave of the Sultan, and four days
later, having re-embarked his escort and suite,
proceeded in the Eliza, the Prince Henry and
the Speedwell accompanying him, to Pinang.
The little flotilla dropped anchor in the harbour
within musket shot of the shore on the 15th of
July. Two days later Lieutenant Gray, of the
Speedwell, with a body of marines, disembarked
on Point Pinaggar, a low sandy tongue of land,
which is considered by some to be now the
Esplanade, but which is by Messrs. Cullin and
Zehnder deemed to be the land near the Fort
Point, between the end of Light Street and the
Iron Wharf opposite the Government buildings.
Lieutenant Gray's advance party was reinforced
on the following day by the p;uropeans, and
thenceforward the work of establishing the
occupation proceeded with the utmost expedi-
tion. Soon a little town of atap houses arose
about the shore, with, on one side, a small
bazaar accommodating a number of Kedah
traders who had been attracted to the spot by
the prospect of lucrative business. The artillery
and stores were landed on the nth of August,
and H.M.S. Valentine opportunely arriving in
harbour the same day. Light deemed that the
occasion was auspicious for taking formal pos-
session of the island. The ceremony took place
about noon, the captains of the ships in harbour
and some gentlemen passengers, with a body of
marines and artillerymen, assisting. After the
Union Jack had been hoisted on the flagstaff and
the artillery and the ships had thundered out a

salute, the proclamation was made that the
island in future would be known as Prince of
Wales Island, in honour of the Heir Apparent
(afterwards George IV.), whose birthday fell the

CHAELBS, FIRST MARQUESS CORN-

WALLIS.

(Governor-General of India during the period immediately

following the occupation of Pinang. From a portrait

in the National Portrait Gallery.)

next day, and that the capital would be known
as Georgetown, out of compliment to the sove-
reign, George III. There were mutual con-
gratulations on the birth of the new settlement,

VIEW FROM HALLIBURTON S HILL, PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND.
(From Daniell's " Views of Prince of Wales Island," published early in the nineteenth century.)

52

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OP BRITISH MALAYA

which everyone recognised was destined to have
before it a useful career.

The faith of Light and his associates in the
future of the settlement was based rather on an
appreciation of the natural advantages of the
situation than on any material attractions in
the island itself. Truth to tell, the Pinang of
that day was little better than an uninhabited
waste. Supplies of all kinds had to be obtained
from Kedah, for there was practically no culti-
vation. Roads of course there were none, not
even of the most rudimentary description. The
interior was a thick jungle, through which
every step taken by civilisation would have to
be by laborious efifort. Still, the town was laid
out with a complete belief in the permanency of
the occupation. To each of the native nation-
alities separate quarters were allotted. The
European or official quarter was marked out on
imposing lines. As a residence for himself and
a home for future chief administrators of the
colony Light built a capacious dwelling, which
he called, in compliment to the county of his
birth, Suffolk House.and which, standing in park-
like grounds, bore more than a passing resem-
blance to the comfortable country houses in the
neighbourhood of Melton, in Suffolk, with which
he was familiar. The new settlement early
attracted emigrants from various parts. From
Kedah came a continual stream, prominent
amongst the intending settlers being a consi-
derable number of Indians, or Chulias as they
were then known. Malays, good and bad, put
in an appearance from various quarters, and a
French missionary transferred himself with his
entire flock from the mainland with Ihe full ap-
proval of Light, who thoroughly realised that the
broader the base upon which the new settlement
was built the more prosperous it was likely to
be. Almost every ship from the south brought,
too, a contingent of Chinese. They would
have come in much larger numbers but for the
vigilance of the Dutch, who were jealous of the
new port and did their utmost to destroy its
prospects of success. In spite of this and other
obstacles the settlement grew steadily. Within
two years of the occupation there were over 400
acres of land under cultivation, and a year or so
later the population of the settlement was re-
turned at the" respectable figure of io,ooo. The
trade of the port within a few years of the
hoisting of the British flag was of the value of
more than a million Spanish dollars.

Associated with the early history of Pinang
is a notable achievement by Admiral Sir Home
Riggs Pophara which created a great stir at the
time. Popham, who at that period was engaged
in private trade, in 1791 undertook to carry a
cargo of rice from Calcutta to the Malabar coast
for the use of the army employed there. He
was driven oul of his course by the monsoon
and compelled to bear up for Pinang. While
his ship was refitting Popham made an exact sur-
vey of the island and discovered a new channel
to the southward, through which, in the early
part pf 1792, he piloted the Company's fleet to
China. His services earned for him the grati-
tude of the East India Company and the more
substantial reward of a gold cup, presented by
the Governor-General. Popham was one of
the most distinguished sailors of his time,
and his name is well deserving of a place in
the roll of eminent men who at one time or

another have been connected with the Straits
Settlements.

At the earliest period in the life of the settle-
ment the question of fiscal policy arose for con-
sideration. In a letter to Light, dated January
22, 1787, Sir John Macpherson, the Governor-
General, outlined the views of the Government
on the point as follows :

•'At present our great object in settling
Prince of Wales Island is to secure a port of
refreshment and repair for the King's, the
Company's, and the country ships, and we
must leave it to time and to your good manage-
ment to establish it as a port of commerce. If
the situation is favourable, the merchants will
find their advantage in resorting with their
goods to it, and, as an inducement to them, we
desire you will refrain from levying any kind
of duties or tax on goods landed or vessels
importing at Prince of Wales Island, and it is
our wish to make the port free to all nations."
Thus it will be seen that Pinang was originally
cast for the role of a free port, but fate — in plain
truth, expediency — decided against the adoption
of a Free Trade policy, and it was left to Sir
Stamford Raffles to give effect to Sir John
Macpherson's views in another sphere with
the happiest results. Light's own opinions on
the subject were given in a communication he
forwarded in the first year of the occupation in
response to a request from the Supreme Govern-
ment to say how he proposed to meet the
growing expenses of the Pinang administra-
tion. Light suggested the adoption of a middle
course between the opening of the port abso-
lutely to all comers and the adoption of an
all-round system of custom duties. " To levy a
general duty on all goods which come to this
port would," he wrote, "defeat the intention of
Government in making remittances to China by
the barter of the manufactures of India for the
produce of other countries. The present situa-
tion of the surrounding kingdoms, distracted by
foreign and civil wars which deprive their in-
habitants of the privilege of bringing the
produce of their lands to this port, added to
the various impediments thrown in the way of
the English trade by the Dutch, who prevent
the Chinese junks and the Malay and Bugis
prows from passing Malacca, while by threats
they cause some of the Malay States and by
force oblige others to desist from trading with
the English, are obstacles too great to admit of
the levying with success any general duties."
Light went on to say that in his view the island
ought to be treated as a colony, and the expense
of maintaining it drawn from land and not from
the trade, which should be encouraged as much
as possible, to the end that the export of manu-
factures of the Company's territories in India
might be extended, and the remittances to
China by the sale of these manufactures in-
creased. Still, he recognised that money had
to be found for immediate needs, and he
accordingly suggested a system of customs
duties on foreign goods or goods imported in
foreign vessels. The chief imposts were : 4 per
cent, upon all India goods imported in foreign
vessels ; 4 per cent, upon all goods imported in
Chulia vessels not immediately from anj' of the
Company's settlements ; 6 per cent, upon all
China goods without distinction ; 6 per cent,
upon all tobacco, salt, arrack, sugar, and coarse

cloths, the produce or manufacture of Java or
any other Dutch possession to the eastward ;
6 per cent, upon all European articles imported
by foreign ships unless the produce or manu-
facture of Great Britain. The Supreme Govern-
ment gave their assent to these proposals, and
they were introduced with results so unsatis-
factory that the system was abandoned in favour
of a more uniform system of duties. Eventually,
as will be seen, all imposts were abolished, and
Pinang became, like Singapore, a free port.
Meanwhile, a series of excise farms were set
up to raise money for specific administrative
purposes. These constituted for many years
the backbone of the revenue system, and they
still form a not unimportant part of it.

Politically the affairs of the new settlement
ran none too smoothly in the early period of its
existence. Apart from the obstructiveness of
the Dutch, Light had to deal with the serious
discontent of the Sultan, arising out of the in-
terpretation put by the Supreme Government
upon their arrangement with him. Sir Frank
Swettenham, in his work, enters at great length
into a consideration of this question, and he
does not hesitate to characterise in the strongest
terms what he regards as the bad faith of the
Supreme Government in their dealings with
the Sultan and his successors. The point of
the whole matter is whether, in return for the
cession, the Government pledged themselves to
defend the Sultan's territories against aggres-
sion, and especially Siamese aggression. Sir
Frank Swettenham emphatically affirms that
they did, and the mass of documentary evidence
which he adduces in favour of that view is cer-
tainly fairly conclusive on the subject. Light
himself appears to have regarded the extension
of British protection to the State as an essential
feature of the bargain. He again and again
urged upon the Supreme Government with
much earnestness the desirability of affording
the Sultan the protection he demanded. He
pointed out that the success of the Siamese
would have very injurious effects on the Com-
pany's interests. " If they destroy the country
of Kedah," he wrote, "they deprive us of our
great supplies of provisions, and the English
will suffer disgrace in tamely suffering the
King of Kedah to be cut off. We shall then
be obliged to war in self-defence against the
Siamese and Malays. Should your lordship
resolve upon protecting Kedah, two companies
of sepoys with four six-pounder field pieces,
and a supply of small arms and ammunition,
will effectually defend this country against the
Siamese, who, though they are a very destruc-
tive enemy, are by no means formidable in
battle ; and it will be much less expense to
give the King of Kedah timely assistance than
be obliged to drive out the Siamese after they
have possessed themselves of the country."
The Calcutta authorities turned a deaf ear to
this representation, as they did to others not
less urgent that Light forwarded. Their hands
were doubtless too full at the time with the
struggle against the French to be easily turned
towards the course to which a nice honour would
have directed them. In Juh-, 1789, Light wrote
to the Government at Calcutta informing them
that the Sultan had declined to accept a mone-
tary compensation for the island, and at the
same time had "endeavoured to draw a full

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

53

promise that the Honourable Company would
assist him with arms and men in case an attack
from the Siamese should render it necessary."
This demand Light said he had met with the
evasive answer that no treaty which was likely
to occasion a dispute between the Company and
the Siamese could be made without the appro-
bation of the King of Great Britain. The
Sultan, finding that diplomacy had failed to
secure what he wanted, resolved to attempt to
oust the English from the island. Early in 1790
he assembled a formidable force of ten thousand
men and a fleet of twenty war prahus manned
by pirates at Prye. Here a stockade was
erected, and only "a propitious day" was
wanting for the attack. This never came, for
Light anticipated the Sultan's move by an
attack of his own, conducted by four hundred
well-armed men. The stockade was captured
and the fleet of prahus dispersed. Ultimately,
on the l6th of April the Sultan sued for peace,
and Light concluded a new treaty with him.
This instrument, which was afterwards approved
by the Supreme Government, provided for the
e.xclusion of all other Europeans not trading or
settling in Kedah, the mutual exchange of slaves,
debtors, and murderers, the importation of food
stuffs, and the payment of an annual subsidy of
6,000 dollars to .the Sultan. The question of
British protection remained in abeyance until
1793, when the Home Go\'ernment issued the
definitive instruction that " no offensive and
defensive alliance ' should be made with the
Rajah of Kedah." Here, as far as Light was
concerned, the controversy ended, as he died
in the following year, and an opportunity did
not occur in the interval of raising the question
afresh in the face of the direct mandate froin
home. But to the end of his days he is believed
to have felt acutely the injustice of which he
had been made the unwiUing agent.

A few months before his death Light in-
dited a communication to Sir John Shore,
who had succeeded Macpherson as Governor-
General, urging the necessity of establishing a
judicial system in the island. The letter is a
long and able document, setting forth the
peculiar conditions of the island, the charac-
teristics of the various elements in the population,
and the inadequacy of the arrangements which
at that time existed for administering justice.
Light concluded his survey with these remarks,
which show the liberal, far-seeing character of
the man : " A regular form of administering
justice is necessary for the peace and welfare
of the society, and for the honour of the nation
who granted them protection. It is likewise
improper that the superintendent should have
it in his power to exercise an arbitrary judg-
ment upon persons and things ; whether this
judgment is iniquitous or not, the mode is still
arbitrary and disagreeable to society." The
Supreme Government, in response to the
appeal, framed certain regulations for the
administration of law in the settlement, and
these remained in force until a regular judicial
system was introduced in May, 1808, with Sir
Edmond Stanley, K.T., as the first Recorder.
It will be of interest before passing from this
subject to note that one of the magistrates
appointed under the regulations was Mr. John
Dickens, an uncle of the great novelist, who
previous to his appointment at Prince of Wales

Island had practised with considerable success
at the Calcutta Bar. An amusing story illus-
trative of life in Pinang in those early days
figures on the records. One morning Mr.
Dickens was taking his usual ride when he
met an irate suitor — a certain Mr. Douglas —
who required " an explanation and satisfaction "
of him relative to n case just concluded, in
which Douglas appeared as the defendant.
Mr. Dickens replied spiritedly that he was
surprised at the man's daring to interrogate
him in that manner, and told him that he would
not permit him or any man to expect that he
would explain his official conduct as judge.
Upon this Douglas said he would have ample
satisfaction, and swore that he would have the
magistrate's blood. Mr. Dickens, not to be
outdone, " told him he was a scoundrel, and
that he had now an opportunity, and that if he
had the spirit to do it, why did he not now
take his revenge." His answer was, "that he
had no pistols, but if he had he would." Mr.
Dickens, in transmitting his account of the
episode to Raffles, who was then Colonial
Secretary, cited it as " another instance of the
injurious effects resulting from the Hon.
Governor-General in Council compelling me
to examine into complaints against British
subjects, whose judicial respect and obedience
to mj' judicial opinion I not only cannot com-
mand, but who think themselves authorised to
resent as a private personal injury the judicial
duties I perform in obedience to the injunctions
of the Hon. Governor-General in Council."
No doubt this protest of Mr. Dickens had no
small influence in bringing about the establish-
ment of the judicial system already referred to.
Before this incident occurred, as we have
mentioned, Light had been removed by death.
His demise occurred on October 21, 1794, from
malarial fever. He left behind him a widow,
two sons, and three daughters. The elder son,
William Light, was sent to England to the
charge of iMr. George Doughty, High Sheriff of
Suffolk, a frienci of Light's foster parents. He
entered the army and served with distinction in
the Peninsular War, finally becoming aide-de-
camp to the Duke of Wellington. Later he
achieved fame in quite anotlier field. As the
first Surveyor-General of South .-iustralia he laid
out the city of Adelaide, and he did so on lines
which have won for the place the designation of
" the Garden City." Every year at the elec-
tion of mayor of Adelaide the " Memory of
Colonel Light" is solemnly drunk. It is a
recognition of his title to the position of
father and founder of the city. Light's second
son, Francis Lanoon Light, had a somewhat
chequered career. At the time of the British
occupation of Java he held the position of
British Resident of Muntok, in Banka. Later
we find him a suitor for charity at the hands of
the East India Company on the ground that he
was "labouring under great affliction from
poverty and distress." The Directors, in view
of the services of his distinguished father,
granted him on July 4, 1821, a pension of ;£ioo
a year. He died on October 25, 1823, so that
he did not live long to enjoy the rather nig-
gardly bounty of the Company.

CHAPTER II.

E .\ R L Y Y ^ A R S .

After Light's death the Company appear to
have had a cold fit on the subject of Prince of
Wales Island. The first brilliant expectations
formed of the settlement had not been realised.
The trade did not grow in proportion to the
expenses of administration, and there were
numerous political difficulties to be contended
with. In the circumstances the Government
were disposed to lend an ear to the detractors
of Light's enterprise, who had from the first re-
presented the settlement as one of the Company's
bad bargains. A proposition actually enter-
tained by them was the abandonment of the
settlement in favour of one on one of the Anda-
man Islands, where a convict station and har-
bour of refuge had already been established.
The Government sent Major Kyd to report on
the respective merits of the two situations.
This officer set forth his conclusions in a com-
munication dated August 20, 1795. They were
opposed to the removal of the Company's centre
of influence from Pinang. Major Kyd pointed
out that Port Cornwallis, the alternative situa-
tion in the Andamans, was out of the track of
regular commerce, and that a station there
would answer no other purpose than a harbour
and a receptacle for con\icts, while Prince of
Wales Island was well calculated for defending
the Straits of Malacca and for securing commu-
nication to the eastward. The writer doubted,
however, whether the island could pay its way,
though he acknowledged that if the Dutch
authority to the eastward were not re-estab-
lished the intercourse with Malay merchants
would be greater and the revenues proportion-
ately increased. The report was conclusive as
to the superior advantages of Prince of Wales
Island. But the Court of Directors, in dismissing
the idea of abandonment, sardonically remarked
that revenue at the settlement arose from the
vices rather than the industry of the inhabitants
— a reference to the fact that the opium and
gaming farms were the leading items on the
credit side of the settlement's balance-sheet.

It is in the period immediately following
Light's death that we first discover traces of
the growth of a municipal system. In June,
1795, Mr. Phihp Manington, who had suc-
ceeded the founder of the settlement as Super-
intendent, appointed, on a salary of Rs. 150 per
month, a Mr. Philip Maclntyre as clerk of the
market and scavenger, " because of the intoler-
able condition of filth in the streets." In approv-
ing this appointment the Supreme Government
wrote inquiring " how far in Mr. Manington's
opinion the imposition of a moderate tax on
houses and grounds within the town for the
purposes exclusively of obtaining a fund for
cleansing and draining the town and keep-
ing the streets in repair is practicable." The
Superintendent, writing on September 25, 179S,
reported the enforcement of a tax on houses
and shops in the bazaar belonging to natives
according to the extent of the ground occupied.
He proceeded : " Since the above period the
gentlemen and other inhabitants, owners of
houses and ground situated on what is called the
Point and within the limits of Georgetown,
have had a meeting, and have given it as their

54

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH .MALAYA

opinion that the most equitable mode to adopt
would be that a committee of gentlemen should
be appointed to fix a valuation on every par-
ticular^house, and that so much per cent, on

" But," he added, " I have to observe that the
tax I have recommended will be more than
double sufficient to answer all expenses what-
ever that can be incurred in the bazaar."

which reference has been made above, the
value of Prince of Wales Island was abundantly
proved. In 1797 the Government of India had
in contemplation an expedition against Manilla,

.--^"■■^ —

PLAN OF

GEORGE TOWN

in leas.

- — ^

] Governnic-nt Hi.use

2 Court House

3 P.iblic Officer,

4 Grouiia rr;sc-rv--d kjr a Ch'ir..h

' 5 Master A)tfiivJ.Mif=. OHW,.

6 New Rice Goclowni

7 Jail

a Fish Wferkpt '

9 Fowl Mork-:-!

10 Mosqnf built by ih'- GiiL-clil..-.

11 Ghincs 0!Hjrch

l2 Sepoyi' Lines

13 Aclrniraj'5 hoil-.'

14 Lirge W(-ll

15 Govcrnntr;r,i An.nce.H' '.';ri- ^

lb Nr.w Stnr> Roij'ii?^^

17 P.ip-lly lill^.l Ml,

1 !

i \

PLAN OF GEORGETOWN (PINANG) IN 1803.
(From Sir George Leith's "Short Account of Prince of Wales Island," published 1804.)

that valuation should be levied." In reference
to the Government's particular inquiry, Mr.
Manington reported that he was of opinion
that the levying of any tax over and above
that he had recommended would for the
present " become a great burden on the native
inhabitants in the bazaai, hundreds of whom
still remain in very indigent circumstances."

Nothing further appears to have been done at
this juncture to establish a municipal system.
But some years later the suggested body to
assess the value of property was created under
the designation of the Committee of Assessors,
and from this authority was developed the
existing municipal constitution.

Two years after Major Kyd's mission, to

and they got together a considerable force for
the purpose. Prince of Wales Island, as the
most advanced post of the Company, was made
the rendezvous of the expedition. Here,' in
August of that year, were gathered five thou-
sand EuVopean troops with a large native
force under the command of General St. Leger.
The famous Duke of Wellington {then simple

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

55

Colonel Wellesley) was present in command of
the 33rd Regiment, whicli formed a part of the
expedition. He seems to have been commis-
sioned to draw up a paper on ttie settlement,
for a " Memorandum of Pulo Penang " from his
pen figures in the archives. The great soldier
saw at a glance the value of the place to the
British. He emphasised its importance as a
military station, and showed how it could be
held by a comparatively insignificant force
against all comers. He concluded with
some general remarks on the question of ad-
ministration, recommending that the natives
should be left under the direction of their head-
men, while at the head of the magistracy of the
island there should be a European magistrate
"who should inform himself of the methods of
proceeding and of the laws which bind the
Chinese and the Malays." The report had its
due weight with the authorities. Then more
than ever it was realised that there could be no
question of abandonment. But the administra-
tion of the settlement was beset with too many
difficulties for the Supreme Government to be
altogether elated with their possession. Apart
from financial drawbacks, there were serious
causes of dissatisfaction arising out of the in-
adequate policing of the settlement. The
incident already related in which Mr. Dickens,
the magistrate, figured, points to the chief
direction from which trouble came. Major
Forbes Macdonald, who succeeded to the
government of the island on Light's death,
gives a further and deeper insight into the
matter in a report he drew up for presentation

to the Supreme Government some little time
after assuming office. He there relates how
he has made himself acquainted with the

THE MARQUESS WELLESLEY.

(Governor-General of India from I7Q7 to 1806. From
the portrait in tfie National Portrait Gallery.)

people, their modes and customs. " I am
persuaded," he wrote, " I have gained their

confidence, although I may perhaps owe much
of that to the fiery ordeal through which I have
persevered, not seldom in their defence, ad-
ministered to me by the European settlers, who
affected to hold in contempt such feeble and,
as they argued, not beUeved, upstart control.
To the Europeans alone, to their interested
motives, to their spirit of insubordination, must
be attributed the general laxity of every depart-
ment, for where could vigour, where could
with propriety any restrictive regulation operate
while the most conspicuous part of the com-
munity not only holds itself sanctioned, but
preaches up publicly a crusade against all
government ? Police we have none, at least no
regulation which deserves that epithet. Various
regulations have been made from time to time,
as urgency in particular cases dictated, but they
have all shared the same fate— neglect where
every member of the community is not bound
by the same law, where to carry into effect a
necessary regulation arrangement a mandate
is issued to one class, a request hazards a
contemptuous reception from the other."

Major Macdonald clearly was not happy in
his relations with the European community.
Whether the fault was pntirely on the side of
the settlers is a question which seems to be
open to considerable doubt in the light of the
records. Macdonald appears to have been of
the fussy type of autocrats who must always
be doing something to assert their authority.
Early in his administrafion he brought obloquy
upon himself by demanding from the settlers
the proofs of their right to reside in the settle-

VIEW OF THE NOETH BEACH FROM THE COUNCIL HOUSE, PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND.

(From D.lniell's "Views of Prince of Wales Island.")

56

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

ment. One of the community, a Mr. Mason,
made this reply, which perhaps is responsible
for the allusion to the contemptuous reception
of requests in Major Macdonald's report :

" Sir, I beg leave to inform you, for the

information of the Governor-General in Council,
that my authority or permission to reside in
India is from his Majesty King George the
Third — God save him ! — also from Superinten-
dent Francis Light, Esquire, the public faith
being pledged for that purpose. And as

to my character, I shall take particular care that
it be laid before the Governor-General in
Council."

and Commander-in-Chief. One of the earliest
measures adopted by the new administrator was
the despatch of Mr. Gaunter, the First Assistant
at the settlement, to Kedah to negotiate with the
Sultan for a transfer of territory on the main-
land. The necessity for this extension of the
Company's sphere of influence had been ap-
parent from the beginning, and with the
growth of the trade of the port the matter had
become more pressing, owing to the depreda-
tions of pirates who, established on the Kedah
coast, were able to raid vessels entering or
leaving Pinang with practical impunity. Mr.
Gaunter discharged his mission successfully.

io

^^,^

TI^E feoVERNMl&NT biiliZETTE.

. -., .......I.. :,„^.^,.„^mm_H -Vji.i^-- -|-7 llTTlTl ^ iiiiirti l|

4bHA ^lebiK In-'ilf* 90 tr b RtfUS irrOA £ ttrr F ,
PMMpM. St..,r«ar TO GouiKv«..(rT.

'PROlLaMaTIOS.

♦HHitASi

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! rnnti; of WJr.

t.l'ctj Uld «pi.Dj .r. OoTWtCP Um i<4l-

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■^ Hmc, ibcreiu (pci.i»ctl, iIk vu<1 Un^> ifi^ Hov

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''-BKniMncil. AikI ntic.cu <he utiil >([<4iitc do* 1

^^■uy be laK( kuJ tbca ja Uialnio '.onTrysiUc

Vuv be letup. AtKt wUfirjithf tpiriiind priji-

•ipkofilit FiijiUmiiio.. ,•; iBcjiii i.ptcuibrt,

ifcu (wtiicbdiiuU, ilwi all M<-ilrcC«A iii^!

-' bl ?pin CojII ittoowlcJue ihr.i rt'.tl,) l&i bv

the inicnluCIUD oF tht .iil .udom, lx*u rviJed .

"-Th*. HdiMTibU -Otc GvnrtMt uid C«')acil c

Vriocc of Wiilck' l>Lu>J lute ihcralois cnMlMl,

Jad dw-honby eniU uvl ilb.Ure , ThMi, .Wun iqlI

a/ltr tbr dij at the dji* of ilia f*n.<U(iuti<S,

**cr> KtioJ ^klc <lui t^l Ik raBcuiPj rf, an '

cmccTniof Limdi ui^ llonuk «a ibit Ulaod, u '

, Um opf Mira a<paodu<i nrriiofri whiftbtr ab»

^ liM( o(««oJiuanali UnJI be utirilf Ti»d, -end oi

•« ctfc^. ubJui lb* Va»dor m NUhho* oI ib'

-aad appor Im/oec the J'lJgtr indRij^iiiriie 3^ (be

Mid lU-ukd, witAtd (iriMQ dsfi Ui-at the Cfr^^i-

~ ttoo »/ lucb bWl pi i*U, uul wkoovUJ^ toll I ' ,

bMCi*cvtian«/»ui:hBill orSalf, b«l«r( itwult!

A»dib«uid Ja^fiAdMipitnit k>ull cndi^r.co.i

•Ad { And tbt Rcgiixc «r BilLi oi Silt rt ihr
UkI L.1^* -imI Hgum, I) hereby dirr^ol «<\'
m tt%iM.t ■»/ <uch liilli •( bit, ftam irl
tftcr th« date e( ifaa Pro^ U/ruiloo, uAlau •u>'>

. ■■dnfifmral ituU be Bmiouitf tmAt rbirron,'
k* ilM utd Judf* umI Mnliimai Aad «if>i

;, mp«i la »>1U ai SaU oTUadi ud M<'Om>,.

' (vUch -biTt bctA nKutsd bafcn the due of ihiJ
Fratl^mauoB, bui abiLh Fu*« oai been iJre«JT
■Mutunl «iib Um Ragliin of Um B>1U ol ^U<-,
«k( HoIdtT ..f ii\ ikKb BilU of S^ iwi yet r^-

,tBMb*n Aliccn d47«. fraoi ib« dif of the daiV'^

Ijui roKUnulija, &«&>« lbs uul RcjpKU, i4>a

'■ will t • '

ADFgRTiSiStKhir. ■ I
H KO C £ il« bM> Ui<« in iahrai 'h<.
nuKliudtiM Pibiif , thai he tttiradi tu«i; t

: Um catuts( M^wh, h Ui Utwv fttabfc;..

HEPOIlTORy VOR. M^^WU, *«. I

l>c|[ UtTc td acoM.ni thi.

<»• i.ior A. ..r ..m. wnwoi witi i)*t7v.
' l*T Pi»t»« gAl«. on ifw riC4.» a? i«i
>.ci«d4M r - ■" ■ "■ - - '

H k ifwtjidiaf tofwetftilJ, «t(ie»mi^,
U.1IUI ta MBrtBi, ftin* hb nta. u f^:u«i ^ ,

( i.<-4., a? erf;;

i U( lend foi i)U(

nu4ti^ a Kane

pajtii'f d.n«, ..::".,_

ii'oppi'H.

futag Hooft! ,...^, ■;■
MiwfuN*;,!!,, ,«h, ....
BrMlinc ia far (ha Wdla.

Spi. Dtll»^

COURT AND BONE,

THI FOLLOWltlQ MUSIC r
U Rnvur do ZaphiT. a WM. lulbah.

fiisdii

. 4ii>a.

, CkracBCl.

^o(B ttic (bie or ihu Pro..Uiiiatk)fi, (hr tud
■Mi«r tj Aretivd bst TO rrfitier uy Bills ol
«/ Lied «*.-UUCT(/, kllMU(Cl cmlbiH
to IDl •liK' 01 itua PRhUaatida, ' im1«i
Juiyc ml Mj^ittnia itki.1 tenlAr bjr liu 9t(-
-uu.'c itK.n -u, lint (ttc uiM ouftil t« bt lo f^
]iri«4 '.^11* tbe.H«Banai> tiM Co*ema> ttid

■ Tt^er^iiit lakatMiHai «M S»»

Lkin och. tad ncrj Mfcnif*
1 Billa atf Mraf LMiC *^

-•J . - '

Thn« Sor-kui. dil

A 5«nsu. ditia, ..... i

Tbc Livoriic Otintu« t> BUiu lad Bibti,

Unit, . . . . , - I
Tmi Ain, Mann aad R4U|MI«, i*i(b *aii-

uioBi. Cnaicr, .... I
Tr«U L;f«a<US Sonat*. tU"".
A r*.it'><f 0*«>ii(« IP Crbclc.
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Sii Cu.toncu, HiouBtl, - ' - 4i
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A iMWiMlJ»«», fltfri, - . - Jl

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I d'tlocklftt^hCf<-n--.<>lftlklMWo WHldfr.

VlU3«tb4 894il»npui ttMdUdl iAl«iu«al Mcrr.

JIU.« a, IM4, AkTiaa Slc>tv..y.

— ■ pUii — ;- — ■ i t ' ^ — -

COURT NKa'BONE,
HArr rojCtALI,

M^e^y. wvraniii'Ul ytAf* in

lMU«.pc. do.^^ ~..» t4

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ciiiftios on, ^

POR RHEUMl^CTAtNs AND LUM.
~1AC0
M*v be had ttX^oort lAJ Bqd.:'! Rojmf
Pr!« Thtfc AaaiCb D6lhr« jwr Qoan.

PRICE CDERCNT Oy GOODS.
pecMl, ...

If

9 S'

ftpl»ri,'
RnttiM,

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Coich, ii'AoJ 5

Ekpbirit' T^pii, per pecu!, f^j 10 75

Benjamin, ifltim aj

Sogar, ja.a,-di(to, i

Clovci,'dnKv i,IJ

Nwmrg-, fKTtOOiOOO, IOC J

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Pah Mawi, PPT necoi, 40

Sigo, ditto, a '

sition did not at the time or for many years
afterwards appear to be of any great value
apart from its uses in conducting a campaign
against pirates. Thus, one writer of the early
part of the last century, alluding to the transfer,
says : " The amount of purchase monej', 2,000
dollars for nearly 150 square miles of country,
was not great, but it was probably the full
value." There are many who would be glad
to get even a decent sized piece of ground in
Province Wellesley at the present day for the
price. So much for confident assertions based
on superficial knowledge. The consideration
paid for this new territory was a good deal
more than the 2,000 dollars mentioned by the
writer. That sum was a mere extra — " the
little present for the ladies." The real pay-
ment was an annual subsidy of 10,000 dollars
"so long as the English shall continue in
possession of Pulo Pinang and the country on
the opposite shore."

In consequence possibly of the greater re-
sponsibility arising out of this increase of
territory Pinang, in 1805, was made a" presi-
dency. The new regime was ushered in with
befitting pomp on September i8th of that year.
On the day named the East Indiaman Ganges
arrived with the first Governor, in the person of
Mr. Philip Dundas, a brother of the Chief
Baron of Scotland. With Mr. Dundas were
three councillors and a staff of 26 British
officials, whose united salaries, with the
Governor's and councillors' emoluments,
amounted to ;£'43,3oo. Notable- in the official
throng was Raffles, who filled the position of
Colonial Secretary, and in that capacity gained
experience which was turned to account in
Java and later in the virgin administrative field
of Singapore. The imposing reinforcement
to the European community which the new
establishment brought stirred the dry bones of
social life in the settlement, and Pinang took
to itself airs and graces which were unknown
in the days of Light's unassuming rule or even
in the Macdonald regime. Very early in the
new administration the settlement equipped
itself with a newspaper. This journal was first
known as the Government Gazette. It was an
official organ only in the sense that the pro-
prietor, a Mr. Bone, was subsidised from the
local exchequer and set apart a portion of his
columns for official announcements. The nevi^s
columns were largely filled with extracts from
home newspapers — poetrs', anecdotes, and
gossip — calculated to interest the exile. Local
news occupied little space as a rule, but
occasionally the reporter would give a glimpse
of some social function of more than ordinary
interest. Thus, we find in the issue of Satur-
day, August 16, l8o6, the following :

PINANG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE.
(One of the earliest copies of the first newspaper pubhshed in the Straits.)

When the writer of this letter was afterwards
asked regarding the nature of the royal au-
thority which he pleaded, he is said to have
referred Major Macdonald for particulars to his
Majesty King George the Third.

Major Macdonald died in 1799 while away
from the island. His successor was Sir George
Leith, who in 1800 assumed the reins of office
with the exalted title of Lieutenant-Governor

but not without difficulty. There were impedi-
ments raised at first to the transfer, but on
adopting a hint given and making " a little
present" to the ladies of the Sultan's household,
he got his treaty. On Monday, July 7, rSoo,
Sir George Leith took formal possession of the
new territory, which was named Province
Wellesley, after the Marquess of Wellesley, the
then Governor-General of India. The acqui-

" Tuesday last being the anniversary of the
birth of H.K.H. the Prince of Wales and of the
establishment of this settlement, the Prince of
Wales Island Club held an extraordinary meet-
ing at Mr. NicoU's hotel, for the purpose of
commemorating the day. Xn elegant enter-
tainment was served up by Mr. Nicoll to the
members and their friends, who continued to
keep up the festivities of the day with the
greatest harmony and good humour till an
early hour the following morning.

" Amongst the toasts were —

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYi\

57

" H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, and many
happy returns of the day to him.

" Prosperity to the island.

" The King.

" The Queen and Royal Family.

" The Navy and Army.

" The memory of Mr. Light, the founder of
the settlement.

" The immortal memory of Lord Nelson.

" A select few also met to commemorate the
anniversary of the birth of H.R.H. as Grand
Patron and Grand Master of Masonry. They
sat down to a neat dinner provided at the
house of a brother, and the evening was spent
with the highest conviviality and good-fellow-
ship. Among others the subjoined toasts were
drunk with great applause :

"H.R.H. George Augustus Frederick, Grand
Master of Masonry.

" The Mystic Tie.

" Virtue, Benevolence, and Peace to all man-
kind.

" King and the Craft.

" Queen and our sisters.

" The immortal memory of Lord Nelson.

" The revered memory of Marquess Corn-
wallis.

" All Masons round the globe."

Mr, Bone's journalistic enterprise continued
for some time in the sun of official favour, but
after a year or two the title of the paper was
changed from the Government Gazette to the
Prince of Wales Island Gazette. Under this
designation it prospered after a feeble fashion,
with several changes in the proprietorship,
until it fell from official grace and was ex-
tinguished in circumstances which will be
hereafter related.

The elevation of Prince of Wales Island into
a presidency was due to a somewhat exag-
gerated view of the value of the settlement
created by the report which Colonel Wellesley
had furnished on the return of the Manilla
expeditionary force to India. In official circles
both in Calcutta and Leadenhall Street the
expectation based on the favourable opinions
expressed here and elsewhere was that Pinang
would become a great naval and military
centre and a flourishing commercial emporium.
This over-sanguine estimate led to many
blunders in policy, not the least important of
which was a decision to restore Malacca to the
Dutch. From this false step the Court of
Directors was, as we shall see when we come
to deal with Malacca, saved mainly by the
action of Raffles, who, after a visit to the
settlement, penned a powerful despatch, in
which he set forth with such convincing force
the arguments for retention that the Court can-
celled their instructions. It was this despatch
which mainly brought Raffles to the notice of
Lord Minto and paved the way to the position
of intimacy which he occupied in relation to
that Governor-General when he conducted his
expedition to Java in i8ll. Pinang, as has
already been stated in the opening section of
this work, was the advanced base of this impor-
tant operation. Over a hundred vessels were
engaged in the transport of the force, which
consisted of 5,344 Europeans, 5,777 natives,
and 839 lascars. The resources of the settle-
ment were heavily faxed to provide for this

great force, but on the whole the work was
successfully accomplished, though there was
considerable sickness amongst the European
troops owing to the excessive fondness of the
men for pineapples, which then as now were
abundant and cheap.

In these opening years of the nineteenth
century Prince of Wales Island witnessed
many changes in the Government, owing to
an abnormal mortality amongst the leading
officials. In March, 1807, Mr. J. H. Oliphant,
the senior member of Council, died, and the
next month Mr. Philip Dundas, the Governor,
expired. The new Governor, Colonel Xorman
■ Macalister, retired in 1810, and was succeeded
by the Hon. C. A. Bruce, a brother of the Earl
of Elgin. Mr, Bruce only lived a few months
to enjoy the dignity of his high position, his
death taking place on December 26, 1810, at
the early age of forty-two. His successor, Mr.
Seaton, was also removed by death within a
very short period of his appointment, and
strangely enough the two following Governors,
Mr. Wm. Petrie and Colonel Bannerman, did
not outlive their respective terms of office. In
less than fourteen years Prince of Wales Island
had six chief administrators, of whom no fewer
than five died and were buried on the island.

Notwithstanding the frequent changes in the
administration and the confusion they neces-
sarily caused, the progress of the settlement at
this period was vminterrupted. The population,
which in 1791 was 10,310, had risen in 1805 to
14,000, and in 1812, when Province Wellesley
was first brought into the reckoning, the return
showed a total of 26,000 inhabitants for the
entire administrative area. Ten years later the
figure for the united territory had risen to
51,207. Meanwhile, the revenue, though sub-
stantial, was not adequate to discharge the
excessively heavy liabilities imposed upon the
settlement. There were recurring deficits, until
in the financial 5'ear 1817-18, the excess of
expenditure over income reached no less a figure
than 164,000 dollars. A financial committee
was appointed to investigate matters, but as the
only satisfactory remedy was a severe cutting
down of salaries, including those of the mem-
bers of the committee, naturally little or nothing
was done. It remained for Lord Wm. Bentinck,
on the occasion of his historic visit in 1827, to
use the pruning shears to some effect upon the
bloated Pinang establishment. The amazing
thing is that the remedy was so long in being
applied. But nepotism at that time was rife in
the Company, and doubtless the numerous well-
paid official posts in Prince of Wales Island
were very useful to the dispensers of patronage
in Leadenhall Street.

The establishment of an educational system
dates to this early nineteenth century period
with which we are dealing. The facts, as set
forth in a report prepared for the information
of the Court of Directors in 1829, will be of
interest. In November, 1815, at the suggestion
of the Rev. R. S. Hutchins, chaplain of the settle-
ment, a committee was formed, consisting of
seven gentlemen, who were entrusted with the
establishment of a school for the instruction
of native children in the most useful rudiments
of education. The school, it was stipulated,
should be conducted by a superintendent, and
should be open for the reception of all children

without preference, except for the most poor
and friendless. It was further agreed that
all children should be educated in reading and
writing English, and in the common rules of
arithmetic, and, at a proper age, in useful
mechanical employments. Great care was
to be taken to avoid offending the religious
prejudices of any parties, while the Malays,
Chinese, and Hindustanies were to be in-
structed in their own languages by appointed
teachers. Children were to be admitted from
four to fourteen. The East India Company con-
tributed 1,500 dollars, to which was added an
annual grant of 200 dollars, afterwards reduced
to 100 dollars in pursuance of orders from the
Court of Directors. The Government of Prince
of Wales Island also granted a piece of ground
called Church Square for the erection of two
schoolhouses, one for boys and the other for
girls. This ground being required for the
church erected about this time, another site was
chosen, upon which the schools were built. In
July, 1824, the school was reported in a pros-
perous state, it having on the rolls at that time
104 boys of different ages, and having sent forth
several promising youths, six of whom had been
placed by regular indenture in the pubHc ser-
vice. In January, 1819, the Rev. H. Medhurst, a
missionary of the London Missionary Society,
submitted to Government the plans of a charity
school for the instruction of Chinese youth in
the Chinese language by making them ac-
quainted vi/ith the ancient classical writers of the
Chinese and connecting therewith the study
of the Christian catechism. The Government
granted a monthly allowance of 20 dollars
for the furtherance of the scheme, to which was
added a further grant of 10 dollars per month for
a Malay school. In 1821 a piece of ground for
the erection of a schoolhouse was also granted
to the society. In May, 1823, the sum of 400
dollars towards the erection 01 a missionary
chapel in Georgetown was also granted by the
Government. In July, 1819, the Bishop of Cal-
cutta being at Pinang, a branch was established
there of the Society for the Promotion of
Christian Knowledge, to which the Govern-
ment granted a donation of 200 Spanish dollars.
In April, 1823, on the representation of Mr.
A. D. Maingy, the superintendent of Province
Wellesley, four Malay schools were estab-
lished there, the Government grant being 32
dollars per month. In November, 1824, the
Govei-nment made a grant of 100 dollars for
the repair of the Roman Catholic church and 30
dollars for the support of three Roman Catholic
schools. In 1816 the Government also sanc-
tioned the grant of a piece of land at Malacca
to Dr. Milne, on behalf of the London Mission-
ary Society, for the erection of a mission
college, and in 1818 the college was built.
Such were the beginnings of the splendid
educational system which now permeates the
settlements.

CHAPTER III.

Siamese Inva.sion of Kedah— Development
OF Province Wellesley.

Troubles arising out of Siamese aggression in
Kedah greatly retarded the commercial deve-
lopment of the settlement in 1815 and the

C ""

58

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

following years. The Sultan who had con-
cluded the first treaty with the British had
died, and his son reigned in his stead. Bui
the idea that the British in accepting Pinang
had bound themselves to protect Kedah from
invasion had survived, and in 1810 the new
Sultan had addressed a powerful appeal to
Lord Minto as he passed through Pinang
on his way to Java, imploring him to carry out
the — to him — essential condition of the original
contract. The letter, which is given in full in
Anderson's " Conquest of Quedah and Peral<,"
concludes as follows :

" I request that the engagements contracted
for by Mr. Light with my late father may be
ratified, as my country and I are deficient in
strength ; the favour of his Majesty the King
of England extended to me will render his
name illustrious for justice and beneficence,
and the grace of his Majesty will fill me with
gratitude ; under the power and majesty of
the King I desire to repose in safety from
the attempts of all my enemies, and that the
King may be disposed to kindness and favour
towards me, as if I were his own subject, that
he will be pleased to issue his commands to
the Governor of Pinang to afford me aid and
assistance in my distresses and dangers, and
cause a regulation to be made by which the two
countries may have but one interest ; in like
manner I shall not refuse any aid to Pinang
consistent with my ability. I further request a
writing from the King and from my friend, that
it may remain as an assurance of the protection
of the King and descend to my successors in the
government. I place a perfect reliance in the
favour and aid of my friend in all these
matters."

In his comment on the letter Anderson
says : " The whole of Mr. light's correspon-
dence is corroborative of this candid exposition,
and it was quite inconsistent with reason to
suppose that Pinang was ceded without some
very powerful inducements in the way of
promises by Mr. Light, which, no doubt, in
his eagerness to obtain the grant, were liberal
and almost unlimited, and that his inability to
perform them was the cause of much mental
suffering to him." It does not appear that any
answer was given to the Sultan's letter. The
request for aid at all events was rejected, and
the Sultan was left to his fate. This was
somewhat long deferred, but the blow was
swift and remorseless when it was delivered.
Equipping a large force, the Siamese in 1821
appeared in the Kedah river, and landing there,
commenced to slay and pillage without provo-
cation or warning. They conducted a ruthless
warfare for days, leaving behind them wher-
ever they went a track of wasted country and
slain and outraged victims. The Sultan with
difficulty escaped to Province Wellesley and
thence to Pinang, where he was kindly
received by Mr. W. E. Phillips, Colonel Ban-
nerman's successor in the government. He
was granted an allowance for his maintenance
and a force of sepoys as a guard. A few days
after his arrival an insolent demand was made
by the Raja of Lingore, on behalf of the
Siamese, for his surrender, and when this was
refused in emphatic terms, a fleet of one
hundred war prahus was sent into Pinang
harbour to take possession of the unfortunate

Sultan by force in default of his peaceful sur-
render. The answer to this impudent move
was the despatch of the gunboat Nautilus to the
vicinity of the leading war prahu, with orders
to the Siamese commodore to leave the harbour
instantly or prepare for action. The hint was
immediately taken. In a very brief space of
time every prahu had left. The Sultan chafed
under the loss of his territory, and the other
Malay chiefs were not less indignant at the
wanton aggression committed upon one of their
number. In a short time the fugitive prince's
residence became the centre of plots and in-
trigues for the recapture of the lost territory.
The local Government, with a lively fear of
complications with the Siamese before them,
did their utmost to put a stop to these man-
oeuvres, but without much success. On April
28, 1823, an attempt was actually made by a
force commanded by Tunku Abdullah, the
eldest son of the Sultan, to oust the Siamese.
It was completely unsuccessful, and Tunku
Abdullah was left a prisoner in the Siamese
hands. A protest was lodged with the British
against the use of Province Wellesley for the
equipment of this expedition. The reply made
by Mr, Phillips to the communication was that
he could not prevent such inroads without
imitating Siamese methods, which was out of
the question. At the same time the Govern-
ment were seriouslj' alarmed at the anomalous
state of affairs created by the continued
residence of the Raja at Pinang, and after
repeated and ineffectual warnings that his
efforts to reconquer his territory would not be
tolerated, they shipped him off to Malacca to
keep him out of mischief. He closed his life
in exile, a victim, it is to be feared it must be
admitted, of an unfulfilled contract.

An immediate effect of the conquest of
Kedah by the Siamese was the filliiig of
Province Wellesley with great bodies of
refugees. In the early days of the invasion
thousands of these unfortunates crossed the
border to escape the diabolical cruelties prac-
tised by the Siamese upon all who fell into
their hands. Many of them were in a starving
condition, and without resources of any kind.
The Government authorities in the province
exerted themselves to succour the wretched
fugitives, and with such success that soon a
considerable number of them were settled on
the land in comparative comfort. It was
fortunate that at this period the local direction
of affairs was in the capable hands of Mr.
Maingy, a humane and resourceful man, who
took a real interest in developing the latent
resources of the province. Under his super-
vision roads were made in various directions
by convicts, and convicts were also employed
in cutting drains and channels for irrigation of
paddy fields and in opening arteries of com-
munication between different rivers. He made
small advances to each of the cultivators to
encourage cultivation, and obtained at his own
expense from Calcutta indigo seeds, together
with a person competent to teach the process
of concreting the- dye, in order to establish
a system of indigo cultivation. Meanwhile,
with the support and sanction of Govern-
ment, he opened native schools at Teluk Ayer,
Tawar, and Prye, for the education of natives.
The rapid growth of the agricultural interest

in the province had, somewhat earlier than
the period at which the events just narrated
occurred, induced the Government to establish
a regular system of administration in the main-
land area. The province in 1820 was divided
into four distinct districts, each under an
official, who was provided with a police estab-
lishment and a small military guard. The
whole was under a superintendent. These
and other beneficent measures had their due
effect, and soon the province, which had
hitherto been a sort of Malayan Alsatia to
which all sorts of bad characters resorted,
became a centre of thriving industry.

It is to this period we may date the rise
of the great planting industry which now
occupies so important a place in the com-
mercial Hie of the settlements. A communica-
tion written by Mr. Phillips on September 18,
1823, reported to the Court of Directors the
commencement of a S5'stem of coffee planting
on a large scale. Some passages from this
document may be quoted, as they throw an
interesting light on the history of the industry.
Mr. Phillips stated that he had received a
letter from Mr. David Brown, " the most exten-
sjve landliolder, and certainly one of the most
ii-(telligent and public-spirited Europeans on
this island, reporting that he has planted
upwards of 100,000 coffee trees and cleared
forests to enable him to complete the number
tp 300,000, and requesting our sanction to his
extending the cultivation, as the progress of
the coffee plants hitherto planted by himself
and others engaged in this speculation holds
out every prospect of the successful production
of this article on the island and no doubt on
the adjacent continent. We shall, of course,
lose no time in complying with Mr. Brown's
request." Mr. Phillips went on to submit
certain considerations as to the expediency of
improving the agricultural and other resources
of the settlement. He proceeded :

" Our climate is temperate and without any
sudden or great vicissitudes throughout the
year, and our lands are never subject to such
parching heats or destructive inundations as
those of Bengal, whilst our inhabitants enjoy
the blessings and security of a British system
of government and law, of the want of which
at Java the English residents there seem to
be daily more and more sensible. No appre-
hensions also against colonisation are enter-
tained here, and European settlers have always
been allowed, as appears by our Pre.sident's
minute of the 15th of August last, to possess as
much land as they please and to hold it as
freehold property. Hitherto the want of
adequate capital and the paucity of enterprising
individuals have restricted our objects of culti-
vation to pepper, which has never received
any encouragement from your Honourable
Court, and which is one of the most expensive
articles of culture, and to cloves and nutmegs,
which private individuals have continued to
cultivate, notwithstanding all public encour-
agement was withdrawn in the year 180S,
and which now at last promise to be bene-
ficial to them, a very favourable report of
some samples lately sent to Europe having
been just received. Mr. Brown and other
persons, however, in the year 1821, conceiving
that the soil and climate of our hills were

VIEWS OP PINANG AND PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND.
The Chinese Mills, Pin-anc. ^. the Great Tkee. 3. Glu«or House and Spice Plantation.

(From Danjell's "Views of Prince of Wales Island.")

60

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

well adapted for the production of coffee,
applied to us for permission to clear lands for
the purpose, and we are happy to acquaint
your Honourable Court that whatever may
be the success with which these gentlemen
may eventually have to congratulate themselves,
one very decided and important advantage
has already accrued, to the public from the
exertions which these public-spirited in-
dividuals have made to introduce the cultivation
of coffee on the island. They have found
employment for hundreds of our new settlers,
the miserable refugees from Kedah, and opened
to our poor a prospect of much additional
employment, particularly for our old Chinese
settlers. Were your Honourable Court to
make known generally in England the advan-
tages of this island in point of climate, situa-
tion, and other circumstances, and to encourage
the resort hither of respectable individuals,
in possession of small capital, desirous of
emigrating, we are confident that many per-
sons would see cause for agreeing with us that
this settlement affords a finer field for agri-
cultural enterprise, and for obtaining an easy
and secure livelihood, and ultimately a com-
fortable competency, than Java, the Cape of
Good Hope, or Canada." '

The coffee e.xperiment unfortunately did not
prove the success that was anticipated, but
the exertions of Mr. Brown and other pioneer
planters were not without their influence in
the development of the territory under the
Straits Government. One indirect consequence
was the institution of a regular system of land
settlement. The arrangements for land transfer
had up to this period been in a very confused
state, owing to the laxity observed in the trans-
actions. At the outset, to encourage settlers.
Light had caused it to be known that free
grants of land would be made to all suitable
applicants. This pledge had been confirmed
by Government, and land from time to time
was taken up. . Changes were subsequently
introduced without any particular method, so
that eventually there were no fewer than
seven different systems of tenure. Xew regu-
lations were formulated as a consequence of
the influx of settlers, and the entire system was
put on a more business-like footing. Meanwhile,
a complete survey of Pinang and of the
boundaries of Province Wellesley had been
made. In a letter of August 24, 1820, to the
Court of Directors, the Governor, referring
to this survey, said it was "likely to. prove of
more interest than any hitherto prepared at
such enormous expense by successive sur-
veyors. A document of the kind has long
been required to regulate the distribution of
grants of land to the numerous claimants who
have made application to clear the land on the
opposite shore. The present state of the coast
entirely demands our earliest consideration
with reference to the advantages it may be
calculated to afford to this island in supplying
provisions, &c., and also in extending and
promoting our agricultural interests."

Simultaneously with the development of the
planting industry was carried through a series
of public works with the object of opening
up the country and improving the means of
communication between the different parts of
■ " Straits Settlements Records," No. 183.

the territory. The most important of these
enterprises was a road through the hills at
the back of Georgetown. Colonel Bannerman
initiated the work in 1818, and under his
energetic direction the first section was rapidly
constructed with convict labour. Shortly after
his death the work was suspended for lack of
funds, and was not resumed until many years
later, when it was pushed to completion, greatly
to the advantage of the island. Colonel Ban-
nerman was not in some respects a wise ad-
ministrator, but it is to his lasting credit that
he was the first to grasp the essential fact that
the progress of the colony was dependent upon
the improvement of the means of communica-
tion, which up to that period had been almost
entirely neglected.

The development of Province Wellesley
went hand in hand with an extension of the
Company's influence in the adjacent native
States. Actuated by a fear of Dutch aggression
in the immediate vicinity of Pinang, Colonel
Bannerman in iSi8 despatched Mr. W. S.
Cracroft, an able official, to Perak and Selangor
to conclude treaties with the rulers of those
States. His mission was a complete success.
He brought back with him agreements which
pledged the two chiefs to maintain ties of
friendship with the British and not to renew
obsolete agreements with other Powers which
might tend to exclude or obstruct the trade of
British subjects. Subsequently a subsidiary
arrangement was made with the Raja of
Selangor by Mr. Anderson, the author of the
well-knovi'n work on Kedah from which a
quotation has' been made above, by which
t'.:e Prince contracted to supply the Company
with a certain quantity of tin for sale. Under
the contract a considerable amount of tin was
brought down to the coast by way of the
Muda river and there sold. In 1819 the sales
amounted to 650 bahars or 1,950 piculs. The
tin was purchased by the commanders of the
Company's ships General Harris and Warren
Hastings at the rate of 18 dollars per picul
(£^2 los. 8d. per ton). After, deducting all
charges against the import there was a clear
profit on the transaction of 5,396.41 Spanish
dollars. Mr. Anderson, who was designated
the Government Agent for Tin, received one-
third of the amount. The Government were
well satisfied with the results of the transac-
tion. They decided, however, that it would
not be wise for them to prosecute the tin trade,
but rather to leave it to individual merchants
" who would be more particularly concerned
in its successful prosecution." After this the
trade was carried on intermittently, but in
1827 we find in the official records an ex-
pression of regret that '.' the jealousy and
aggrandising spirit of the Siamese authorities
at Kedah has hitherto rendered ineffectual our
endeavours to prosecute the. tin trade with
Patani."

In another direction we have evidence that
at this juncture in the life of the settlement the
importance of a widened sphere of influence
was being recognised. In or about the year
1819 a Captain John Mein approached the
Pinang Government with an offer of the island
of Pangkor, which he said had been given to
him by the King. In forwarding the com-
munication to the Court of Directors the

Governor wrote : " We do not know what
claim Captain Mein may be able to establish —
it was evident that the late King of Perak was
not of sound intellect, and it appears that the
reputed grant to Captain Mein of this island
was not made valid by the seals and signa-
tures of the constitutional authorities of the
country." ' Captain Mein's ambitious venture
in islandmongering missed fire, but at a later
period, when Sir Andrew Clarke concluded the
Treaty of Pangkor in 1874, the island, with a
strip of territory on the mainland, was brought
under British rule, the whole being officially
designated the Bindings.

The history of the question subsequent to the
rejection of Captain Mein's offer may be briefly
related. On October 18, 1826, a treaty was
concluded between the Straits Government and
that of Perak, by which the latter ceded to the
former " the Pulo Dinding and the islands of
Pangkor, together with all and every one of the
islands which belonged of old and until this
period to the Kings of Perak, because the said
islands afford a safe abode to the pirates and
robbers who plunder and molest the traders on
the coast and inhabitants of the mainland, and
as the King of Perak has not the means to drive
those pirates, &c., away." It does not appear
that the Government ever took formal posses-
sion of the islands. In the sixties, Colonel Man,
then Resident Councillor at Pinang, pointed
out to the local Government that it would be to
the interest of the settlements to occupy these
islands, and he was authorised to visit them
in the Government steamer, with the view of
ascertaining what steps it was advisable to take.
Colonel Man's views of the advantages of
taking possession of the island were fully
confirmed by his visit, but he found it very
difficult to ascertain precisely what territoi-y
had been ceded, and the prospect of an early
transfer of the settlements to the Crown put a
stop to all further action except that a grant
was given to two men to clear 130 acres of
land in the island known as Pulo Pangkor Laut.
On Sir Harry Ord's arrival in the Straits,
Colonel Man brought to his notice the right
which the British possessed to the islands, and
urged the advantages which would accrue from
taking possession of them. At the same time
he pointed out the difficulty of ascertaining
exactly what land had been handed over by
the treaty, and suggested that, as there were
only two islands standing out in the sea
opposite the Dinding river and a small one to
the west of it, the other islands " must be
sought for in some of the land at the mouth of
these rivers, which was separated from the
mainland by the numerous creeks traversing it."
As a result of this communication Sir Harry
Ord instructed Colonel Man to enter into
negotiation with the Laksamana, a high officer
of the Sultan of Perak, who was then in
Pinang, with the view to the completion of an
understanding on this point. Colonel Man
followed out his instructions, but left for India
before the negotiations were completed.
Later they were carried on by Captain Playfair,
and meanwhile Sir Harry Ord paid a visit to
the Bindings and convinced himself that the
cession of 1826 included portions of the land
at the mouth of the Dindings opposite Pulo
' Ibid., \o. 182.

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

61

Pangkor, because " the cession would have been
perfectly useless for the suppression of piracy,
since on the appearance of our vessels or boats
off Pulo Pangkor the pirates could at'once have
taken refuge among these islands, where they
would have been quite safe from pursuit."

The Sultan of Perak at this time was not
inclined to do business on the basis required,
and as direct orders had come out from
England that no action involving the occupation
of disputed territory should be ta}cen without
specific instructions, the matter was allowed to
drop for the time being. Sir Andrew Clarke
had some little difliculty in securing adhesion
to his proposals, which took the most compre-
hensive view of the original arrangement. But
eventually the question was satisfactorily
adjusted. In this way command was obtained
of the entrance to the river, a position of
considerable strategical value and of some
commercial importance.

At the same time that Sir Andrew Clarke
concluded this excellent bargain he arranged a
useful readjustment of theboundariesin Province
Wellesley. The matter related to the southern
boundary, which as originally drawn had been
found extremely inconvenient for both police
and revenue purposes. On this point the
chiefs displayed an accommodating spirit, and
by arrangement the British territory was
extended so as to include all the land in the
watershed of the Krian, the tracing out of the
boundary being left for a .commission to carry
out subsequently.

of this station does not consist in those staples,
it appeared no more than just that the trade
which our merchants conduct with Europe
and China, and which, taken to other ports in
India, would there be subject to duty, should
contribute something towards the maintenance
of this port, of which they make such profitable
use, and particularly as duties in such cases
must ultimately be borne by foreigners and
not by the subjects of British India." After
a reference to the lightness of the port dues
the despatch proceeded ; " We earnestly
wished to impress upon their minds the con-
viction that, independent of such share of the
commerce of the Eastern Archipelago as
might come on to them from Singapore, the

CHAPTER IV.

pin'ang made a free port — government
Regulation of the Press.

The occupation of Singapore had a very
injurious effect upon Pinang trade. Native
vessels from China, which formerly made
Pinang their principal port of call, stopped
short at the new settlement, which, besides
being more conveniently situated for their
purposes, had the considerable advantage of
being absolutely free. The mercantile com-
munity of Pinang, feeling the pinch acutely,
petitioned the Government for the extension
to the settlement of the unrestricted system of
trade which obtained at the rival port. The
reception their demand met with was not
particularly cordial. The Governor, in a de-
spatch to the Court of Directors on the subject
on September i8, 1823, made note of " the
extraordinary circumstance of a body of
merchants allowing themselves to recommend
to the Government under the protection of
which they are enabled to conduct a lucrative
commerce such a measure as the immediate
abolition of one of the most important branches
of its establishment." The Governor stated
that in his reply to the petition he remarked
that it was politic and reasonable that every
possible freedom should be given at Pinang
to the sale of the staples of continental India
and to the property of the merchants of the
other presidencies, as these had already con-
tributed towards the revenues of those places,
"but that as a valuable portion of the commerce

articles of the Pegu country must always
attract from Europe, China, and India a large
and profitable commerce to centre and flourish
here ; and to these more natural branches
of our trade we particularly invited their
attention." The despatch ended as follows :
" We cannot conclude without soliciting your
Honourable Court's particular consideration of
the difficulties noticed in our President's
minute of the 12th July last, which we have
experienced and still experience in discoun-
tenancing and allaying everything like jealousy
between Singapore and this island, and in
establishing a bond of union and sisterly
affection between the two settlements. .As
long as that factory, placed as it is in the

VIEW OF THE CASCADE, PEINCE OF WALES ISLAND.

(From Daniell's "Viewy of Prince of Wales Island.")

situation of this island with respect to the
pepper staple of the east and west coasts of
Sumatra, betul nut of Achin, tin of Junk
Ceylon and Malayan Peninsula, bird's nest
of Mergui, and oil, teak-wood, and other

immediate neighbourhood of this island, is
governed by a distant authority and different
system of government, and enjoys an exemp-
tion from all duties, your Honourable Court
cannot be surprised that the personal e.xertions

62

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

o£ this Board cannot accomplish the objects
of our increasing wish and endeavour— the
putting a stop to the baneful effects of mer-
cantile jealousy and of those differences which
utjhappily occurred on the first occupation of
Singapore." '_

The obvious aim of the despatch was not
to obtain an immunity from imposts for the
trade of Pinang, hut to secure the abandon-
meni of the Free Trade system in Singapore.
The Court of Directors, however, were too
sensible of the advantages to be derived
from the maintenance of the oren door at
Singapore to listen to the specious reasoning
of the Pinang Government. They confined
their action to sanctioning a rearrangement of
port dues at Pinang, by which the shipping
trade derived some relief. The Pinang mer-
cantile commiinity found little comfort in the
concession rilade to them. They were the
less disposed to take a roseate view of affairs
as the Company at this critical juncture had
ihstructed Ctiina ships not to call at Pinang.
Even the Government were alarmed at the
situation the order created. They wrote home
beseeching the Court " not to be so harsh and
severe to this settlement as to put a stop at
once to the valuable trade which our merchants
have conducted by means of our ships with
Europe and China during the last thirt\'-five
years." The_ obnoxious order was modified,
but the mercantile community of Pinang had
to wait until the year 1827 before they were
placed on an equal footing with their com-
petitors in Singapore by the abolition of the
customs duties at the port. Two years before
this step was taken Mr. FuUerton, the Governor
of the united settlements, had written home
bringing to the notice of the Court the advan-
tage that might result from the use of a few
steamboats in the Straits. " Perhaps," he
said with prophetic vision, " there is no place
in the world where they would be so useful —
those of a sihaller class in following pirates,
and the larger in towing vessels in and out
of the harbour, and even down the Straits,
where calms so constantly prevail." With a'l
his prescience, Mr. Fullerton could not antici-
pate the time when steamboats would make
the entire voyage and the sailing ship would
be almost an' anachronism in the Straits as
far as the main through trade was concerned.

The abolition of the customs duties at
Pinang coincided with the establishment of
a regular market system. Up to 1.827 the
privilege of holding a market, together with
the right of .levying certain duties on grain
to defray the charges of maintenance, was
leased out. The last lessee was Mr. David
Brown, the 'enterprising planter to whom
reference has already been made. Mr. Brown
had a ten years' lease dating from May, 1817.
He died before it terminated, but the market
was carried o;i by his son. On the expiration
of the term of the lease the Government,
" considering the system of taxing grain
extremely objectionable, especially as the port
has been relieved of all duties," took measures
to establish a new market on the principle of
the Singapore market, where the revenue was
raised from the rents of the stalls. Mr.
Brown offered the old market to the Govern-
■ " Straits Settlements Records," Xo. 183.

ment for 25,000 dollars ; but the offer was
declined and 10,000 dollars were sanctioned
for the construction of a new building.

In an earlier portion of this historical survey
there is an account of the launching of a news-
paper at Pinang and of its happy existence in
the light of official favour. In 1829 this journal
— the Peuang Gazette, as it had by this time
come to be designated — changed its proprietors,
for reasons not unconnected with official objec-
tions to the manner in which the paper was
conducted. Under the new proprietor the
journal was issued as the Henaiig Register and
Miscellany, and the opening number seemed to
indicate that the altered title was to be asso-
ciated with a more reverential attitude towards
the great, the wise, and the eminent of the Pinang
official hierarchy. The editor in his opening
confession of faith spoke of the restrictions
upon the press as having been " no doubt
wisely " introduced, and when taken to task by
a Singapore scribe for this subserviency, he
ingenuously argued that the press was really free
if it liked, but that as it accepted otHcial doles
the Government naturally demanded their quid
pro qno. The writer supported his views by
quoting the remark of " an odd little body at
Malacca." " What ! " said this individual, " do
you think we are fools enough to pay these
gents for picking holes in our Sunday coats ? "
This free-and-easy theory of the censorship as
a matter controlled by the subsidy did not find
favour in exalted quarters, and there was in-
creasing friction between the newspaper office
and the secretariat. A crisis was at length
reached when one day the editor, finding that
a paragraph had been deleted by the censor,
had the offending matter printed on a separate
slip of paper and circulated throughout the
settlement. Mr. Fullerton was furious at this
flagrant defiance of authority, and caused a
letter to be sent to the editor, a Mr. Ballhotchet,
demanding an explanation. The missive was
returned unopened. What the next step was
history does not reveal, but we have a record of
a hot correspondence between the offending
journalist and the Secretary to Government,
terminating in the issue of an edict that the
proprietor of the paper, a Mr. Mclntyre, who
was a clerk in the office of the Superintendent
of Lands, should be dismissed from his office,
and that Mr. Ballhotchet's licence to reside in
the settlement should be withdrawn. This
drastic action was subsequently modified to the
extent that the expulsion decree in the latter's
case was withdrawn "in consideration of the
measure of punishment he has already re-
ceived," and on the understanding that he
would have to go if he "misconducted" himself
again. Almost needless to say, the Penang
Register and Miscellany did not survive this
cataclysm. But Pinang was not left without a
newspaper. In this crisis in its history the
Government gallantly stepped into the breach,
and issued a paper of their own under the old
title of the Government Gazette. The editor of
the official journal entered upon his duties with
becoming modesty. In his opening address to
his readers he opined that " a new paper lies
under the same disadvantages as a new play —
there is a danger lest it be new without
novelty.'' " In common, therefore, with all
other periodical compilers," he proceeded, "we

are fully sensible that in offering a work of this
nature to the public the main reliance for suc-
cess must be the support we receive from the
favours of correspondents. This island doubt-
less contains an abundance of latent talent. Be
it our humble office to bring these treasures to
light, and thus offer to the man of business an
elegant relaxation and to the idler a recreation.
. We beg, however, thus early to express
an aversion to satire as being rarely free from
malice or personality, and in no way according
with the motto we have assumed." The editor,
true to his professed mission of offering
" elegant relaxation to the man of business and
to the idler recreation," filled the columns of
the paper with fashionable gossip, quaint stories
and sentimental poetry. But he was not well
served by his contributors. One of them sent
him as an original effusion a poem which had
previously appeared in Blackwood's Magazine.
The Singapore C/iromcle, which had no reason
to love this new venture, took good care to
point out the plagiarism, and no doubt there
were some heart-searchings in the official
editorial sanctum at Pinang. The sands of the
paper's existence, however, were by that time
running out. The cost of the production was
greater than had been anticipated. Moreover,
the change in the system of government by
which the seltlements were brought under the
direct control of the Supreme Government was
impending, and a new era of freedom for the
press throughout the dominions of the East
India Company was dawning. Hence the
orders went out for the stoppage of the
Government Gazette, and on July 3, 1830,
the last number was issued. In a farewell
note the editor thus addressed his readers :
"Accident rather than choice led us to assume
a character which previous experience little
qualified us to discharge with ability. So cir-
cumstanced, we cannot ask, like Augustus, to be
accompanied on our departure with applause,
but must rest satisfied in the hope that we may
have afforded temporary amusement to those
whose severer labours prevented them from
looking for it elsewhere." So the last vestige
of official domination of the press fades out, and
Straits journalism commences that honourable
and distinguished career which has given it a
worthy pre-eminence amongst the press of the
Crown colonies.

CHAPTER V.

Later Years.

When the united settlements were brought
under the government of Bengal in 1830,
Pinang, which had suffered a severe eclipse
politically as well as commercially by the rise
of Singapore, receded still further into the back-
ground. Its population became stationary or
nearly so, the increase in the number of
inhabitants on the island and in Province
Wellesley between the j-ears 1835 and 1857
being only from 86,009 to 91,098. On the
other hand the settlement more than main-
tained its reputation as a costly appanage of
the East India Company. In 1835-36, compared
with an expenditure of Rs. 253,328 was a
i-evenue of only Rs. 178,930. The position

i. View from the Convalescent Bungalow.

VIEWS OF PEINOB OP WALES ISI,AND,
1. Mount Erskine and Pulo Ticoose Bay. 3. Suffolk House.

(From Daniell'.s " Views of Prince of W.iles Island.")

4. View from STR.iwBEBRy Hill.

64

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

became worse as years went by, for in 1845,
against tlie smaller revenue of Rs. 176,495 had
to be set the enormously increased expenditure
of Rs. 346,659. In the " Report on the Moral
and Material Progress of India for 1859-60 "
we find this paragraph relative to Pinang :
" At this station, owing to their poverty, no
undertaking of importance has been projected
by the Commissioners during the past year.
The funds at their command barely s ifficed to
enable them to meet the calls made upon them
for the payment of the police force, to execute
the ordinary repairs to the roads in Prince of
Wales Island, with a few slight repairs to those
in Province Wellesley, to purchase some of the
materials required for a proposed new market,
and to make some little progress towards com-
pleting the works necessary for bringing into
the town the much-needed supply of water."
The settlement appeared to have got into a
backwater from which it did not ever seem
likely to emerge.

A circumstance which militated seriously
against its prosperity was the prevalence of
piracy about the coast. Piracy in this part of
the Straits, even more than elsewhere, was the
staple industry of the coastal inhabitants. The
native chiefs took an active hand in it. Indeed,
there was reason to believe at the time that
more than one of them derived their chief
source of revenue from the toll levied on
commerce by the rovers. The Government
routed these freebooters out from one strong-
hold after another in and about the island, but
still the nefarious trade flourished. It derived
not a little of its strength in later years from
the anarchical state into which the native
States of Perak and Selangor lapsed through
the weakness of the native government, or
what passed for such. The policy of non-
interference in native affairs traditionally pur-
sued by the British in the Straits compelled
the Pinang officials to look on with arms
folded while these States, by their disorder,
were producing a chronic state of lawlessness
along the coast and in the territory immediately
bordering on Province Wellesley. At length,
owing to a particularly menacing development
of piratical enterprise off the Larut river,
and outrages in Province Wellesley and the
Dindings and even in Pinang itself by one of
the piratical factions, the Government took
action. They sent a naval force to the chief
centre of the pirates' enterprise off the coast of
Perak, and for months the coast was patrolled.
Owing to the shallow nature of the waters
hereabouts the operations were most difficult
and little progress was made. Sir Frank
Swettenham, who speaks from personal ex-
perience, gives in " British Malaya " an inter-
esting description of these pirate hunts in the
early seventies. " It was," he writes, " im-
possible to land, for the coast was nothing but
mangroves and mud, with here and there a
fishing village, inhabited, no doubt, "by pirates
or their friends, but with nothing to prove
their complicity. These mangrove flats were
traversed in every direction by deep-water
lagoons, and whenever the pirates were sighted,

as not infrequently happened, and chase
was given, their faster boats pulled away
from their pursuers with the greatest ease,
and in a few minutes the pirates would be
lost in a maze of waterways, with nothing to
indicate which turn they had taken. The
whole business became somewhat ludicrous
when native craft were pirated (usually by
night) under the eyes of the British crews, and
when their boats got up to the scene of action
there was not a trace to show what had oc-
curred or where the pirates had gone. Finally
the boats of H.M.S. Midge were attacked in
the estuary of the Larut river, and after a
longish engagement the pirates were beaten
off, having seriously wounded two British
officers. The net result of these excursions
was that about 50 per cent, of the crews of
the gun-vessels were invalided, and not a
single pirate boat or man had been captured."
Matters drifted on until 1874, when a particu-
larly impudent case of piracy at the entrance
of the Jugra river, a tidal creek connecting
with the Langat river at a point where the
Sultan of Selangor was then living, led to a
naval demonstration in which the then Governor
of the Straits, Sir Andrew Clarke, joined. The
Sultan was duly impressed with the powerful
arguments presented to him in the shape of a
very serviceable portion of the China Squadron,
and though one of his own sons was implicated,
gave full authority for the trial of the men
who had been taken prisoners by the British
authorities, and on their being subsequently
condemned to death, sent a kris to be used at
the execution. This episode had a great moral
effect in the Straits, but the decline and final ex-
tinction of piracy is to be traced more to the de-
velopment of the Federated Malay States under
British guidance than to coercive measures.

In another section we shall have occasion to
describe this great movement in some detail,
and it is therefore unnecessary to follow here
the course of events in these States, though
their influence on Pinang was at times con-
siderable. It must be noted, however, that the
rise of the Federation has brought to Pinang a
great accession of prosperity and restored to it
something of its old prestige as a port. The
settled conditions of life and the progressive
system of government which replaced the old
anarchy not only stimulated the coast trade
which centred at Pinang, but they had a vivify-
ing influence on the territory included within
the area of the settlement. For a long
period European capitalists were shy of in-
vesting their money in Province Wellesley and
the Dindings. The conditions under which the
Government were prepared to grant land were
not sufficiently liberal to tempt them. More-
over, there was little faith in the future of
agricultural enterprise, hampered as it then
was by adverse labour conditions and a
general state of unrest which seemed to
afford a precarious tenure to any who might
be bold enough to sink their money in the
operations then open to the planter. As
Perak and Selangor were brought more and
more under a settled administration and

immense, far-reaching changes were made by
the opening up of the country by roads, the
value of the Pinang territory as a field of
enterprise was recognised, and the country
shared in the wonderful prosperity which
marked the progress of those States in common
with the whole federated area. The rise of
rubber helped on the movement, for much
of the land in Province Wellesley and the
Dindings is suited to the cultivation of this
most imp6rtant article of commerce, and capi-
talists have not been slow to realise the fact.
Lastly, the introduction of railways has been
an immense boon to the Pinang administra-
tive area, and is likely to have even more
marked results as the system in the peninsula
is more developed. Although it is only since
1903 that the line through Province Wellesley
has been open to traffic, the effects on Pinang
trade have been remarkable. The municipal
re venue of the town— a good test of prosperity-
has risen from 568,695 dollars in 1903 to 819,531
dollars in 1905, and it is now almost double
what it Mfras in 1900. The population of the
island is now more than 100,000, and it is
increasing at such a rate that, unless some great
calamity should befall the settlement, it will
probably be double that figure before another
quarter of a century has elapsed.

For a century or more Pinang was largely
the grave of disappointed expectations, but it
is now justifying the faith reposed in its future
by its founder. Indeed, Light in his most
sanguine moments could not have pictured for
his settlement a destiny so brilliant as that
which even now it has achieved. The trans-
formation from a colony slow, unprogressive,
and exceedingly costly to a thriving centre of
commercial life with a buoyant revenue and an
ever-increasing trade is due largely, if not
entirely, to the remarkable work of administra-
tive organisation which has been carried on in
the Malay Peninsula by a succession of able
British officials in the past thirty years. But
it ought never to be forgotten that much of
that work would have been barely possible if
there had been no Pinang and no Province
Wellesley to provide as it were a base for the
diffusion of British influence. Light, as his
writings show, clearly recognised in his day
how important Pinang was, viewed in the
aspect of a centre from which to dominate the
Northern Malay States. His representations
were unheeded by shortsighted bureaucrats in
India, and only the proverbial British luck in
such matters prevented the whole of the
remarkably wealthy territory which is now
peacefully and happily under British protection
from passing into foreign hands. The debt
which the Empire owes to Light is second
only to that which it readily acknowledges as
the due of Raffles. In the adjudgment of
posthumous honours by the arbiter elegatiti-
ariim of colonial history it can scarcely be
claimed that the unpretentious sea captain
and trader of Junk Ceylon has had his due.
But however ignorant the British public as
a whole may be of Light's great services,
Pinang people are not likely to forget them.

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

66

MALACCA.

EARLY HISTORY.

MALACCA, slumberous, dreamy, and
picturesque, epitomises what there is
of romance in the Straits Settlements. Singa-
pore, by right of seniority, has pride of place
in the history of Malaya. But, as we have
seen, little or nothing remains of her' ancient
glories but traditions, none too authentic.
Malacca, on the other hand, has still to show
considerable monuments of the successive
conquerors who have exercised sway within
her limits. On a hill overlooking the settle-
ment are the remains of an ancient Portuguese
church, whose stately towers, with graceful
finials outlined against the intense blue of a
tropical sky, tell of that strenuous period in

sway, and lorded it in their peculiar fashion
over the inhabitants of the ancient Malay port.
In the outskirts of the town are not a few old-
world gardens, charmingly suggestive of an
age in which the steamboat was unknown, and
life rippled on in an even, if monotonous, cur-
rent. Further away, hemming in the houses
in a sea of tropical vegetation, are plantations
and orchards, with, as a background, a vista
of blue-coloured hills. It is a scene typically
Oriental, and carries with it more than a
suggestion of that commercial stagnation that
has left Malacca in a state of suspended anima-
tion, while its upstart neighbour to the south
has been progressing at a feverish rate. But
there are not wanting evidences that Malacca
is awakening from its long sleep. Agricultural

last seems to be dawning. It may not be a
great day, but it will be almost certainly one
which will contrast very remarkably with any
that it has previously known in its chequered
history.

The ancient history of Malacca, like that of
Singapore, is enveloped in a considerable
amount of doubt. Practically the only guide on
the subject is the " Sejara Malayu," or " Malay
Annals," the work already referred to in the
section dealing with Singapore. This com-
pilation is distrusted by most modern Malay
authorities because of its manifest inaccuracy
in matters of detail, and it is usually only cited
by them as a legendary record which, amidst a
great mass of chaff, may contain a few grains
of solid fact. The narrative, as has been noted,

GATE OF THE OLD FOBT AT MALACCA.

Straits history when the priest and the soldier
went hand in hand in the building up of Lusi-
tanian power in the East. Hard by is the old
Dutch Stadt House, solid and grim-looking,
recalling the era when the Netherlanders held

development is touching with its magic wand
the territory along the coast on each side and in
the Hinterland, and slowly but surely is making
its influence felt on the trade of the port.
Malacca's day as a modern trading centre at

describes the final conquest of Singapore in
1252, and the withdrawal of the remnants of
the Malay population to Malacca, to found
there a new city.- The founder was Raja
Secunder (or Iskander Shah, the erstwhile

66

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPBESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI>AYA

chief of Singapore. According to the record,
this Prince, while out hunting one day, was
resting under the shade of a tree near the coast
when one of his dogs roused a moose deer.
The animal, driven to bay, attaclied the dog
and forced it into the water. The Raja, de-
lighted at the incident, said, "This is a fine
place, where the very pelandooks (moose deer)
are full of courage. Let us found a city here."
And the city was founded and called Malacca,
after the name of the tree under which the
Prince was resting — the malacca tree [Phyl-
Janthtis Emblica). Perhaps this explanation
of the founding of Malacca is as authentic as
most stories of the origins of ancient cities. It,
at all events, must serve in the absence of
reliable historical data. Raja Secunder Shah
died in 1274, and was succeeded by Raja
Kechil Besar. In the reign of this potentate
the Malays are said to have been converted to
Mahomedanism. The next two centuries wit-
nessed a great development of the trade of the
city. The place is represented in 1509 as being
one of the first cities of the East, and its ruling
chiefs are reported to have successfully resisted
many attempts of the Siamese kings to subdue
them. The Annals give a picturesque descrip-
tion of Malacca as it existed at this period.
" From Ayer Leleh, the trickling stream, to the
entrance of the Bay of Muar, was one uninter-
rupted market-place. From the Kling town
likewise to the Bay of Penagar the buildings
extended along the shore in an uninterrupted
line. If a person went from Malacca to Jagra
(Parcelar Hill) there was no occasion to carry
fire with one, for wherever he stopped he would
find people's houses." Another vivid descrip-
tion of Malacca at the beginning of the sixteenth
century is to be found in an ancient manuscript,
which is atti-ibuted by the Hon. E. J. Stanley,
its translator, to Magellan. "This city of
Malacca," says the writer, " is the richest trad-
ing port, and possesses the most valuable
merchandise and most numerous shipping and
extensive traffic that is known in all the world.
And it has got such a quantity of gold that the
great merchants do not estimate their property
nor reckon otherwise than by bahars of gold,
which are four quintals each bahar. There are
merchants among them who will take up singly
three or four ships laden with very valuable
goods, and will supply them with cargo from
their own property. They are very well made
men, and likewise the women. They are of a
brown colour, and go bare from the waist up-
wards, and from that downwards cover them-
selves with silk and cotton cloths, and they wear
short jackets half way down the thigh of scarlet
cloth, and silk, cotton, or brocade stuffs, and
they are girt with belts and carry daggers in
their waists, wrought with rich inlaid work :
these they call querix (kris). And the women
dress in wraps of silk stuffs, and short skirts
much adorned with gold and jewellery, and
have long, beautiful hair. These people have
many mosques, and when they die they bury
their bodies. They live in large houses, and
have gardens and orchards, and pools of water
outside the city for their recreation. They have
got many slaves, who are married, with wives
and children. These slaves live separately, and
serve them when they have need of them.
These Moors, who are named Malays, are

very polished people and gentlemen, musical,
gallant, and well-proportioned."

In the section of this work dealing with the
Federated Malay States the story of Portuguese
and Dutch ascendancy in the Straits is fully
related. It is, therefore, only necessary here
to touch lightly upon this period in Malacca
history. The town was captured by Albu-
querque in 1511. For one hundred and
thirty years it remained in the occupation of
the Portuguese. Under their government the
place became an important centre for the
propagation of the Roman Catholic faith.
The great Church of Our Lady of the Annun-
ciation, whose splendid ruins still dominate the
settlement, was built, and within its walls
officiated during an eventful period of his life
St. Francis Xavier, '• the Apostle of the East."
The proselytising zeal of the Portuguese went
hand in hand with commercial enteiprise.
They built up a considerable trade in spices
and other Eastern products, revitalising in
new channels a commerce which went back
to Roman times, if not beyond. Malacca, as
the chief port in these waters, was the centre
to which the merchandise was brought for
shipment. Vessels richly freighted sailed from
its wharves with fair regularity on the perilous
voyage round the Cape, carrying with their
enormously valuable cargoes to Europe an
impression of the greatness of the Portuguese
settlement in the Straits of Malacca which,
perhaps, was scarcely justified by the actual
facts. That Malacca in the palmy days of the
Portuguese occupation was a highly flourishing
city is, however, beyond doubt. A graphic
picture of it as it existed in the early years of
the seventeenth century is given by Manuel
Godinho de Eredia in a manuscript written at
Goa in 1613 and discovered in quite modern
times in the Royal Library at Brussels. Within
the fortifications, which were of great extent,
were the castle and palace of the Governor,
the palace of the bishop, the hall of the
Council of State, and five churches. The walls
of the fortress were pierced by four gates
leading to three separate quarters of the town,
the principal of which was known as Tran-
quiera. Living in the fortress were three
hundred married Portuguese with their families.
Altogether the population of the settlement
included 7,400 Christians, and there were 4
religious houses, 14 churches, 2 hospitals, with
chapels and several hermitages and oratories.
Eredia writes with enthus.asm of the climate of
Malacca. " This land,' he says, " is the freshest
and most agreeable in the world. Its air is
healthy and vivifying, good for human life
and health, at once warm and moist. But
neither the heat nor the moisture is excessive,
for the heat is tempered by the moist vapours
arising from the waters, at the same time that
it counteracts the dampness of the excessive
rains of all seasons, especially during the
changes of the moon."

In the seventeenth century the Dutch and
English appeared in the Straits to contest the
practical monopoly of trade which the Portu-
guese had long enjoyed in these latitudes.
The English were content to leave the Portu-
guese to the possession of the territory they
had long held. The Dutch, more ambitious,
and more conscious of their strength, deter-

mined to put an end to Portuguese rivalry
by the summary process of eviction. In 1642
they sent an expedition against Malacca, and
without much difficulty occupied the place-
They took with them to their new possession
their characteristic trade exclusiveness, and
also their stern methods of dealing with the
natives. The policy had its natural fruits in
a waning commerce and a diminishing popu-
lation. Before the end of the seventeenth
century Malacca had sunk into a position of
comparative unimportance as a port. But its
possession brought to the Dutch a certain
degree of prestige and indirect advantages in
the facilities it afforded for extending Dutch
influence in the native States. Had the Nether-
landish officials grasped the essential features
of a policy of expansion — or, to give it its most
modern designation, peaceful penetration —
they might have anticipated to a considerable
extent that great work which is now being
done under British auspices in the Malay
States. Their political outlook, however,
was as characteristically narrow as was their
economic policy, and though they entered
into relations with some of the native chiefs,
their diplomacy was directed rather to the
exclusion of rivals than to practical ends. So
though the Dutch power was seated for up-
wards of a century and a half at Malacca, its
active influence at the end of the period
extended little beyond the confines of the
settlement, save in two or three instances
where interests were created for ulterior
purposes.

Valentyn, the well-known Dutch missionary
whose great work on the East Indies, published
at Dordrecht and Amsterdam in the year 1726,
is one of the classics of Indian historical litera-
ture, gives a minute account of Malacca as it
was in the middle period of the Dutch occupa-
tion. The region in which the town is situated,
he states, was called by Ptolemy and the ancients
Terra or Regio Aurifera, or the gold-bearing
country, and Aurea Chersonesus, or the Golden
Peninsula, the latter name being conferred on
account of its being joined to the countries of
Tana-sery (Tenasserim) and Siam by a narrow
neck of land.

"The town is 1,800 paces or about a mile in
circumference, and the sea face is defended by
a high wall, 600 paces in length. There is also
a fine stone wall along the banks of the river to
the north-west, and to the north-east is a stone
bulwark, called St. Domingo. A wall called
Taypa runs along the water-side to the port
St. Jago, and there are several small fortresses
with two more bulwarks on the south-east side,
which contribute much to the strength of the
place. ... In the upper part of the town lies
the Monastery of St. Paulo ; and those of the
Miniiebroeders (foster brothers) and of Madre
de Dios are erected on neighbouring hills, be-
yond which the land is everywhere low as
on the sea coast, where the slope is so gradual
that the mud bank which fronts the shore is
dry at low water to the distance of two musket
shots, and so soft and muddy that great diffi-
culty is experienced in landing. . . There are
several handsome and spacious streets in the
town, but unpaved ; and many fine stone
houses, the greater part of which are built after
the Portuguese fashion, very high. They are

TWEXriETH CEXTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

67

arranged in the form of a crescent. There is
a respectable fortress of great strength^ with
good walls and bulwarks, and well provided
with cannon, which, with a good garrison,
would stand a hard push. Within the fort

population of two or three hundred mentioned
as inhabiting the fort was doubtless the Euro-
pean and Eurasian community. Outside the
walls there was probably a much larger body
of native inhabitants. Still, the settlement had

officer of the British troops was to command
the fort ; and in consequence of the expenses
incurred by the King of Great Britain in equip-
ping the armament, the British garrison was to
be maintained at the expense of the Dutch, who

A VIEW OF OLD MALACCA UNDER THE DUTCH.
(Fro.n an old print.)

there are many strong stone houses and regular
streets, all bearing tokens of the old Portuguese
times ; and the tower which stands on the hill
has still a respectable appearance, although it
is in a great state of dilapidation. This fortress,
which occupies the hill in the centre of the
town, is about the size of Delfshaven, and has
also two gates, with part of the town on a hill,
and the outer side washed by the sea. It is at
present the residence of the Governor, the public
establishment, and of the garrison, which is
tolerably strong. Two hundred years ago it
was a mere iishing village, and now it is a
handsome city. In former times the fort con-
tained eleven or twelve thousand inhabitants,
but now there are not more than two or three
hundred, partly Dutch and partly Portuguese
and Malays, but the latter reside in mere attap
huts in the remote corners of the fort. Beyond
it there are also many handsome houses and
tidy plantations of coconut and other trees,
which are occupied chiefly by Malays."

This account of Valentyn's makes it clear that
under the Dutch domination Malacca sank into
a position of comparative insignificance. The

obviously retrograded considerably — was, in
fact, only a shadow of what it once was. With
unimportant variations it continued in this con-
dition of comparative insignificance until the
usurpation of Dutch power by Napoleon, at the
end of the eighteenth century, brought Great
Britain and Holland into a position of mutual
hostility, and indirectly led to the British occu-
pation of several of the Dutch colonies, Malacca
amongst them. The conquest of the straits
port was easily accomplished. A small British
squadron, under the command of Captain Xew-
come of the Orpheus, appeared off the place in
November, 1795. As it entered the port " a
Dutch ship which had run aground fired at the
Resistance, of forty-four guns, C.iptain Edward
Pakenham. This was returned and the ship
struck her colours. The fort also fired a few-
shots on the troops on their landing, and sur-
rendered on the opening of our fire : for which
acts of hostility the settlement, as well as the
ships in the harbour, were taken possession of
as the property of the captors, subject to the
decision of his Britannic Majesty. In the capi-
tulation it was agreed that the commanding

were to raise a sum in the settlement for that
purpose. The British commandant was also
to have the keys of the garrison and give the
parole ; all military stores of whatever descrip-
tion were to be placed under his control ; the
armed vessels belonging to the Government of
Malacca to be put likewise under the orders
of the British Government. The settlements
of Rhio and Perak, being dependencies of
Malacca, were ordered to put themselves under
the protection of the British Government." ■
The town was not at the outset actually incor-
porated in British territory, but was occupied
for the Prince of Orange, who had been driven
from his throne by the revolutionaries. The
fact is made clear by the following general
order issued by the commandant of the British
troops on November 17, 1795: "The Dutch
troops having taken the oath of allegiance
to his Britannic Majesty, George III., now
in strict alliance with his Serene Highness,
William the Fifth, Prince of Orange, the same
respect and deference is to be paid to the Dutch
officers and men when on or off duty as is paid
■ Breuton's " X;ival History," i. 360.

68

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

to the British officers and men, by whom they
are to be con'sidered and treated on all occasions
as brother soldiers in one and the same allied
service."

Malacca was to have been restored to the
Dutch in 1802 as a result of the conclusion of
the Peace of Amiens ; but war breaking out
again in May, 1S03, before the transfer was
made, and the Dutch falling once more under
the domination of France, the status of the
settlement was not changed. The British,
however, were not at all enamoured of their
trust. The place imposed a heavy drain upon
the Company's resources without bringing any
corresponding advantage. If the territory had
been absolutely British the responsibility might
have been faced, but it did not appear to the
authorities of that day to be worth while to
continue the expenditure on the port with the
possibility of its being reoccupied by the Dutch
on the conclusion of a general peace. In
the circumstances Lieut. -Colonel Farquhar (not
to be confused with Major Farquhar, of Singa-
pore fame), the Governor of Prince of Wales
Island, recommended that the Europeans and
the whole of the establishment should be with-
drawn and the place delivered over to the
neighbouring native force. The policy was
fully approved and ordered to be carried into
effect by the authorities in Europe. Strong
protests were made against the measure by the
inhabitants and by the Resident. But the work
of demolishingthefortifications was put in hand
immediately in accordance with the instruc-
tions. The Portuguese had built well, and it
took the Company's workmen two years, and
cost the Company ;f4,ooo, to undo the work
which they had created. When the act of
vandalism had been completed, an order was
received from the Supreme Government
directing the suspension of all further pro-
ceedings in connection with the evacuation.
This striking change in policy had been
brought about by a comm.unication which
Raffles had made to the superior authority as
the result of a visit he paid to Malacca in
September, 1808. Raffles had been profoundly
impressed by what he had seen and heard
during his sojourn in the settlement, and he had
immediately set to work to put on paper a
statement showing the grave blunder that was
on the point of being committed. This mono-
graph is one of the most masterly of his
numerous public communications. He com-
menced by stating that having lately had an
opportunity of noticing the destruction of the
works at Malacca, and being impressed with a
conviction that the future prosperity of Prince
of Wales Island was materially involved in the
impending fate of the place, he had felt it a
duty incumbent upon him to subm.it to the
Board the result of his observations. He pro-
ceeded .

" The object of the measures taken with
regard to Malacca appears to have been two-
fold— to discourage, by the destruction of the
works, any European Power from setting a
value on the place or turning it to any account
in the event of it falling into their hands, and
to have improved the settlement at Prince of
Wales Island by tlie transfer of its population
and trade. These objects were undoubtedly
highly desirable and of great political impor-

tance. The former, perhaps, may in some
degree have been effected by the destruction of
the works and removal of the ordnance and
stores to Pinang, but with respect to the latter
much remains to be done. .

"The inhabitants resident within the territory
of Malacca are estimated at 20,000 souls.
More than three-fourths of the above population
were born in Malacca, where their families
have settled for centuries. . . The Malays, a
class of people not generally valued as subjects,
are here industrious and valuable members of
society. .

•'The inhabitants of Malacca are very dif-
ferent from what they appear to have been
considered. Three-fourths of the native popu-
lation of Prince of Wales Island might with
little encouragement be induced to remove,
having no fixed or permanent property ;
adventurers ready to turn their hands to any
employment. But the case is very different
with the native inhabitants of Malacca. .
The inhabitants are mostly proprietors of
property or connected with those that are ;
and those possessing independence from their
gardens, fishing, and the small trade of
Malacca. The more respectable, and the
majority, accustomed to respect an indepen-
dence from their childhood, will ill brook the
difficulties of establishing themselves at a new
settlement. . . The present population must,
therefore, be considered as attached to the soil,
and from every appearance it seems they have
determined to remain by Malacca, let its fate be
what it will. Into whatever hands it falls it
cannot be much more reduced than at present,
and they have a hope that any change must be
for the better. The offer made by Government
of paying the passage of such as would embark
for Pinang was not accepted by a single
individual. . . .

" The population of Malacca is, in a great
degree, independent ; and when it is considered
that no corresponding benefit can be offered to
them at Pinang, it cannot be expected that they
will remove ; admitting even that they are
indemnified for the loss of their fixed property,
they would feel but little inclination to adven-
ture at Pinang, where theymust either purchase
land and houses from others or undertake the
clearing of an unhealthy jungle.

"The natives consider the British faith
pledged for their protection. When the settle-
ment fell into the hands of the English they
were invited to remain ; protection and even
encouragement were offered them. The latter
has long ago ceased ; and they are in daily
expectation of losing the former. For our
protection they are willing to make great
sacrifices ; and they pay the heavy duties im-
posed on them with the cheerfulness of faithful
and obedient subjects. The revenues of Malacca
are never in arrear."

The eyes of the Court of Directors were
opened by Raffles's communication, and while
issuing orders for the cancellation of the
evacuation measures, they thanked him for his
able report. Thus Raffles's name is identified
as honourably with Malacca as it is with
Singapore. While he may be regarded as the
creator of the latter settlement, he deserves with
equal justice to be looked upon as the saviour
of the former at a turning-point in its history.

In 1811, during the period of the second
British occupation of Malacca, the settlement
was used as a base for the expedition to Java
to which allusion has already been made.
Lord Minto conducted the expeditionary force
in person, and it was at Malacca that he had
the series of conferences with Raffles which
terminated in the adoption by the Governor-
General, in defiance of the opinions of other
authorities, of the route recommended by the
administrator for the passage of the flotilla.
Those were lively days for Malacca, and how
greatly the natives enjoyed the experience is to
be gathered from the pages of the Hikaiat
Abdullah. The faithful Abdullah, with the
minuteness almost of a Pepys, sets down in his
journal all the incidents of the period. His
description of Lord Minto's arrival and of his
landing does infinite credit alike to his observa-
tion and his descriptive powers. " When I
saw Lord Minto and how he bore himself," he
writes, "I was amazed. For I had imagined to
myself what he would be like, his height, his
appearance, his dress. Then I thought of the
Malay proverb which says, ' Fair fame is better
than a fine appearance,' and I bit my finger.
To me he appeared to be a man of middle age
with a spare figure, charming manners, and a
pleasant countenance. I said to myself that I
did not think he could lift as much as 30 lbs.
He wore a dark coat and dark trousers, and
beyond that there was nothing to remark in his
dress. And all the great men who were there
to welcome him stood a long way off ; and not
one of them dared to offer his hand ; they only
raised their hats and perspired. Then the
commander of the soldiers shouted an order,
and every musket was brought to the salute.
And as he [Lord Minto] came forward he
looked to left and right, and bowed to either
hand, and then walked slowly through the
guard of honour, while the guns kept thunder-
ing the salute, and he never ceased raising his
hand in courteous acknowledgment of saluta-
tions. I could not see in him the slightest
trace of self-hauteur or self-importance ; he
simply bowed without affectation and regarded
everyone pleasantly. And as he came to a
great crowd of people they saluted him ; and
he stopped for a moment and raised his hand,
to acknowledge the welcome of all these poor
folk— Chinese, Malays, Tamils, and Eurasians—
and he smiled as he returned their greeting.
How the hearts of all God's servants expanded
with joy atid how the people prayed for
blessings on Lord Minto when they saw how
he bore himself, and how well he knew the way
to win affection ! . . After waiting a moment
to return the salutations he walked on slowly,
bowing to the people, until he reached the
Stadt House and entered it. Then all the great
people of Malacca, and all the great amongst
those recently arrived, went to meet him ; and
I noticed that amongst all those distinguished
people it was Mr. Raffles who was bold enough
to approach him ; the others sat a long way
off. A few moments later everyone who had
entered and met the Governor-General with-
drew, and returned to their own quarters.
Then the troops fired three volleys in succession
and they also returned to their camp." There
is a naivete about Abdullah's description which
gives it a peculiar charm ; and it has its value

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

69

as a piece of self-revelation on the part of a
Malay in the days when Western ideas had not
penetrated very deeply in Malaya. A further
memento of Lord Minto's visit is a portrait of
the Governor-General which hangs in the
Stadt House at Mal.icca. The figure of the
Governor-General is painted against a back-
ground representing Malacca, and there is
little doubt that the work was executed shortly
after the period of the Java Expedition.

Malacca remained in the somewhat anoma-
lous position of a British settlement governed
by Dutch law, administered by a Dutch
judiciary, until the final overthrow of Napoleon
paved the way for a general adjustment of the
international position. The events of that
memorable period followed each other so
rapidly that the first intelligence received by
the Pinang Government of the close of the
war was the announcejuent of the conclusion
of the Treaty of Vienna, which iiih'r alia
provided for the retrocession of Malacca. A
feeling akin to consternation was aroused at
the action of the home authorities in acquiescing
in the rendition of the settlement, the value of
which had become more and more evident
with the revival of Dutch influence and pre-
tensions in the Straits. Earnest remonstrances
were immediately transm.itted to the authorities
in Europe by the Pinang Government against
the measure. Major Farquhar, the Resident,
also addressed to the Court of Directors a
strong plea for the reconsideration of the
question. This official's representation took
the form of a lengthy paper, in which the
position and resources of Malacca were de-
scribed with a knowledge born of long residence
in the settlement and a thorough acquaintance
with the country about it. It is probable that
the production was inspired by Raffles's earlier
effort in the same line, which, as we have
noted, had such striking results. However that
may be, the document is of exceptional interest
from the light it throws on the position of
Malacca at that period, and the prescient
wisdom displayed in regard to its future
prospects in relation to the Malay States. As
the compilation has been overlooked to a large
extent by writers on Malaya, the more im-
portant portions of it may profitably be re-
produced here.

Major Farquhar, at the outset of his com-
munication, remarked that, having regard to the
situation of Malacca, commanding as it did the
only direct passage to China, they could not
but be very forcibly impressed with the
importance of the place alike from a political
and commercial point of view, as well as with
the many evils which would inevitably arise
should it again fall into the hands of a foreign
Power. He proceeded to point out that when
Malacca was before in the hands of the Dutch
they were able to seriously harass and hamper
the British trade which centred at Pinang by
bringing into Malacca every trading prahu
passing up or down the straits.

" A doubt therefore cannot exist," he wrote,
" that should the settlement of Malacca be
restored to the Dutch, their former influence
will be speedily re-estabhshed, and probably
on a more extended basis than ever ; so as to
cause the total ruin of that advantageous and
lucrative commerce which at present is carried

on by British subjects through these straits.
Independent (sic) of the above considerations
Malacca possesses many other local advan-
tages which, under a liberal system of govern-
ment, might in my opinion render it a most
valuable colony. Nature has been profusely
bountiful to the Malay Peninsula in bestowing
on it a climate the most agreeable and salu-
brious, a soil luxuriantly fertile, watered by
numerous rivers, and the face of the country
diversified with hills and valleys, mountains
and plains, the whole forming the most
beautiful scenery that it is possible for the
imagination to figure to itself ; in contem-
plating which we have only to lament that a
more enterprising and industrious race of
inhabitants than the Malays should not have
possessed this delightful region, and we cannot
but reflect with pain and regret on the narrow
and sordid policy of the European Powers (who

" There is a great quantity of the richest kinds
of soil in the vicinity of Malacca adapted to
the growth of everything common to tropical
climates. The sugar-cane is equal to any pro-
duced in Java, and far exceeds in size that of Ben-
gal. Coffee, cotton, chocolate, indigo, pepper,
and spices have all been tried and found to thrive
remarkably well ; but as yet no cultivation to
any extent of those articles has taken place,
principally owing to the uncertainty of the
English retaining permanent possession of
Malacca, and to the afiprehensions the native
inhabitants entertain of being obliged to desist
from every species of agricultural pursuit
should the settlement revert to the Dutch. . . .

" The mineral productions of the Malay
peninsula might likewise become a source of
considerable emolument if thoroughly explored.
Indeed, I have little doubt that the gold and tin
mines in the vicinity of Malacca, if scientifically

THE STEAND, MALACCA.

have had establishments here since the fifteenth
century), by which every attempt at general
cultivation and improvement was discouraged ;
and to such a length did the Dutch carry their
restrictions that previous to the capture of
Malacca by the English in 1795, no grain
of any kind was permitted to be raised within
the limits of the Malacca territory, thus ren-
dering the whole population dependent on the
island of Java for all their supplies. Under
such a government it is not surprising that
the country should have continued in a state of
primitive nature ; but no sooner were these
restrictions taken off by the English and full
liberty given to every species of agriculture
than industry began to show itself very rapidly,
notwithstanding the natural indolence of the
Malay inhabitants, and the Malacca district
now produces nearly sufficient grain for the
consumption of the settlement, and v\'ith proper
encouragement would, I have no doubt, in the
course of a few years, yield a considerable
quantity for exportation. .

worked and placed under proper management,
would prove of very great value. At present
they are very partially worked, and with so
little skill that no comparative advantage can
be derived from them. The Malays and
Chinese who are employed at the mines con-
tent themselves with digging open pits to the
depth of from 6 to 10 feet, seldom going
beyond that, and removing from place to place
as the veins near the surface become exhausted.
The tin mines are all within a circuit of
35 miles of Malacca (with the exception of those
of Perak), and produce at present about 4,000
piculs of tin, which will yield nearly 80,000
Spanish dollars. But this quantity, were the
mines under proper management, might be
easily quadrupled. Indeed, I have not the
least doubt that the mines of Malacca would
very soon be brought to rival those of Banca."

Farquhar went on to suggest that it would be
easy to make arrangements with the native
chiefs for the working of the mines, and this
thought led him to a general dissertation on the

70

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

advantages of extending British influence in
the peninsula. Witli shrewd judgment he
remarked : " It becomes an object of the highest
interest that some means should be adopted for
establishing, under British influence, a regular
system of government throughout the Malaj'
Peninsula, calculated to rescue this delightful
region from the tyranny and ignorance which
at present so completely shuts up every avenue
of improvement."

The paper closed with this glowing descrip-
tion of the climatic advantages of Malacca :

" Malacca enjoys regular land and sea
breezes, but during the height of the XE.
monsoon the sea breezes are very faint, and
the winds from the land at this season frequently
blow with considerable force and little varia-
tion for several weeks together. They are not,
however, at all of a hot and parching nature
like those on the continent of India, owing, no
doubt, to their passing over a considerable tract
of country so thickly clothed with woods that
the earth never becomes heated to any great
degree. The mornings at this season are par-
ticularly agreeable, the weather being quite
serene and the air sharp and bracing. Very
little variation takes place in the barometer at
Malacca. . . The salubrity of the climate may
be pretty fairly judged of by the number of
casualties that have occurred in the garrison for
the last seven years, which on a correct average
taken from the medical registers of those men
who have died from disease contracted here
does not amount to quite two in the hundred, a
smaller proportion than will, I fancj', be found
in almost any other part of India."

Such was the report which Farquhar sent
home. It was reinforced by petitions from the
mercantile community, all representing in the
strongest and most earnest language the grave
impolicy of allowing the settlement to get back
into Dutch hands. The fiat, however, had gone
forth for the transfer, and however much the
home authorities might have liked to retrace
their steps they could not do so without a viola-
tion of treaty obligations. Events in Europe
prevented the immediate fulfilment of the Treaty
of Vienna. It was not, in fact, until Xovember
2, 1816, that the Government order was issued
for the restoration of Malacca. Even then the
Dutch did not appear to be at all anxious to
enter into possession. Thej' were more con-
cerned with consolidating their position in other
parts of the Straits. Riau was occupied, and
lodgments were effected at various advan-
tageous positions on the coast of Sumatra.
Malacca, stripped of its fortifications and bereft
of the most profitable part of its trade by Pinang,
they appeared to consider was of minor im-
portance to these positions which could be
used with effect for the execution of the long-
cherished design of securing a monopoly of the
Straits trade for the Dutch. That " profligate
speculation," to adopt Lord Hastings's phrase,
as we know, was defeated, thanks to Raffles's
foresight and energy* ; but it can be readily
understood that in the early stages of the plot it
seemed good policy to keep the British hanging
on as caretakers at Malacca while the Dutch
forces were careering about the Straits picking
up unconsidered trifles of territory in good
strategic positions.

It was not until the year 1818 was well

advanced that the Dutch found time to turn
their attention to Malacca. After some pre-
liminary negotiations the settlement was handed
over to the Dutch Commissioners on September
2 1st of that year. An interesting ceremony
marked the transfer. At sunrise the British
colours were hoisted, and at seven o'clock all
the British troops in garrison marched to St.
Paul's Hill, where they were joined by the
Dutch contingent. The British Resident (Major
Farquhar) and the Dutch Commissioners, with
their respective staffs, proceeded in procession
to the vicinity of the flag-staff, and on arrival
were received by the united troops with pre-
sented arms. The British proclamation an-
nouncing the retrocession was then read by the
Resident, and it was subsequently repeated in
the Malay and Chinese languages. Afterwards
the Master Attendant began slowly to lower the
Union flag, the battery meanwhile firing a
royal salute and ^the troops presenting arms.
Simultaneously the Dutch men-of-war in the
harbour thundered out a royal salute. After-
wards the British troops took up a new position
on the left of the Dutch line and the Dutch pro-
clamation was read and explained by the Com-
missioners. The Dutch colours were then
hoisted full mast under a royal salute from the
British battery and from the Dutch squadron.
The ceremony of transfer was completed by
the Dutch troops relieving the British garrison
guards.

During the progress of the arrangements for
the surrender of the town. Major Farquhar
advanced a claim on behalf of the British for
the reimbursement of the expenses incurred
over and above the revenue since the capture
of the place in 1795. He did so on the ground
"that the laws of Holland as they existed under
his Serene Highness previous to the revolution
in 1794-95 have been the only civil laws in force
in this settlement, and that all the decrees of
the Courts of Justice have continued to be
passed in the name of their High Mightinesses
the States General, even subsequent to the
Peace of Amiens, and further that none of the
former Dutch civil or military servants were re-
tained but such as professed a strict adherence
to the cause of the Stadtholders." The Dutch
Commissioners declined emphatically to enter-
tain the claim. They agreed, however, to ac-
cept responsibility for the additional charges
incurred from the date of the conclusion of the
treaty to the period when the transfer was
made, less the costs of the time covered by
Major Farquhar's absence on mission duty.

One of the last public appearances of Far-
quhar at Malacca was at the laying of the
foundation-stone of the Anglo-Chinese College
on November 11, 1818. The retiring British
Resident discharged the principal part in this
ceremony, but the Dutch Governor, Thyssen,
attended with many of his leading colleagues,
and so gave the sanction of the new regime to
an enterprise which, though entirely British in
its inception, was of a character to appeal to
broad sympathies. The founder of the college
was the Rev. Dr. Morrison, a well-known
missionary associated with the London Mission-
ary Society. Dr. Morrison's idea was to spread
a knowledge of Christianity amongst the better
class Chinese, and at the same time to provide
for the reciprocal study of European and

Chinese literature. He gave out of his own
means a sum of one thousand pounds towards
the cost of the building, and in addition pro-
vided an endowment of one hundred pounds
annually for the succeeding five years. At a
later period, when the British resumed the
occupation of Malacca, the Company granted an
allowance of twelve hundred Spanish dollars
per annum until 1830, when the grant was
discontinued. Attached to the college was an
English, Chinese and Malay Press, from which
in process of time issued several interesting
books. On the occupation of Singapore an
effort was made by Raffles to secure the trans-
fer of the college to that settlement and its
amalgamation with the Raffles Institute. But
the proposal met with much opposition and
eventually had to be reluctantly abandoned.

The second period of Dutch dominion thus
inaugurated was brief. When the time came
in 1824 to arrange a general settlement of
matters in dispute with the Dutch, the agree-
ment was come to for the British to cede to
the Netherlands Government Bencoolen in
Sumatra in exchange for Malacca and the small
. Dutch establishments on the continent of
India. It has often been thought that in this
transaction we have exemplification of the truth
of Canning's lines which affirm that —

" In matters of commerce, the fault of the Dutch
Is offering too little and asking too much."

But though if we had remained in Sumatra we
might unquestionably have developed a great
trade with that island, it is extremely doubtful
whether we could ever have secured advan-
tages equal to those which have accrued from
the possession of Malacca. With Malacca in
Dutch hands the spread of our influence
throughout the Malaj' peninsula would have
been impossible. Our line of communications
would have been broken, and a wedge would
have been driven into our sphere of action, to
the effectual crippling of our efforts. As things
are, we have an absolutely clear field, and what
that means is being increasingly demonstrated
in the marvellous development of the Malay
States under British auspices.

On the receipt by the Pinang Government
of a despatch from the Supreme Government
announcing the conclusion of the treaty with
the Dutch, Mr. W. S. Cracroft, senior civil
servant, was in March, 1825, sent with a
garrison of 100 men to reoccupy the fort.
Formal possession was taken on April gth. A
question was raised at the time as to whether the
" dependencies of Malacca " included Riau. It
was referred home, and finally answered in a
negative sense. As far as Malacca itself was
concerned, there was little in the situation
which the British found on resuming the con-
trol of the settlement to excite enthusiasm. In
the first place, the trade had been reduced
almost to vanishing point by the competition of
Singapore, whose superior conveniences as a
port attracted to it nearly the whole of the
commerce which formerly centred at Malacca.
The disastrous character of the rivalry is strik-
ingly illustrated in the revenue returns of the
settlement. In 1815 the export and import
duties and harbour fees amounted to 50,591
Spanish dollars. In 1821, two years after the
establishment of Singapore, the receipts fell to

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

71

23,282 Spanish dollars, and in 1823 there was a
further fall to 7,217 Spanish dollars. Practically,
therefore, Malacca had been wiped out as a
port for external trade. This commercial de-
terioration was not the only difficulty which
the new administration had to face. On the
reoccupation it was found that scarcely a foot
of land, with the exception of a few spots near
the town, belonged to the Government. The
proprietary rights in the soil had been given
away in grants to various individuals by the
Dutch, with the mere reservation of the right
to impose a land tax on the whole. Mr. Fuller-
ton caused a careful inquiry to be instituted
into the whole system. This took a consider-
able time and involved much research. The
system in vogue was found to be based upon
the ancient Malay custom which constituted the
sovereign the lord of the soil and gave him
one-tenth of the produce. Under this system
a landowner might hand down the trees he
planted and the house he built, but he could
not alienate the land. It followed that the
individuals called proprietors, mostly Dutch
colonists resident at Malacca, were not such in
reality, but merely persons to whom the Gov-
ernment had granted out its tenth, and who
had no other claim upon the produce, nor upon
the occupiers, not founded in abuse. The occu-
piers, in fact, were, under Government, the real
proprietors of the soil. Another point brought
out by the investigation was that a class called
Penghulus, who occupied a dominant position
in the managenjent of Malacca landed property,
were merely the agents of Government or of
the person called the proprietor, for collecting
the tenth share and performing certain duties
of the nature of police attached by custom to
the proprietorship. In order to revive the pro-
prietary rights of Government, Mr. FuUerton
elected to purchase the vested interests of the
so-called proprietors for a fixed annual pay-
ment about equal to the existing annual receipts
from the land, and to employ the Penghulus to
collect the rents on behalf of Government.
This arrangement was finally carried out with
the sanction of the Court of Directors at a cost
to the Government of Rs. 16,270 annually. For
many years the Government lost heavily over
the transaction, the receipts falling a good
many thousands short of the fixed annual dis-
bursement. There can be no question, how-
ever, that the resumption of the Government
proprietorship of the soil was a statesmanlilie
measure from which much subsequent good
was derived.

The alarming decline in the trade of the
settlement created a feeling akin to despair in
the minds of the inhabitants. In 1829 a memo-
rial was forwarded by them to Pinang, drawing
attention to the position of affairs and suggest-
ing various measures for the recovery of the
settlement's lost prosperity. In a communica-
tion in reply to the memorial, Mr. FuUerton
remarked that the memorialists had overlooked
the principal reason for the decay of Malacca,
which was the foundation of Pinang at one end
of the straits and Singapore at the other.
Henceforth, he said, the prosperity of Malacca
must depend more upon agricultural than com-
mercial resources. Seeing that she was as far
superior to the other two settlements in the
former respect as she was inferior to them in

the latter, there was no reason to doubt, he
thought, that under a wise government Malacca
might regain nearly as great a degree of pros-
perity as she formerly enjoyed.'

If the mercantile community had cause to
complain of the hardness of the times, the East
India Company had not less reason to feel
anxious about the position at Malacca. The
settlement was a steady and increasing drain
upon the Company's resources. The following
figures illustrate the position as it was a few
years after the resumption of the territory :

Revenue.

Expenditure.

Loss.

Rs.

Rs.

Rs.

1831-3^

.. 48,800

184,500

135,700

1832-33 ■

.. 69,800

359.800

290,000

1833-34

.. 60,700

526,200

465.500

It may be acknowledged that not a little of
the excessive expenditure was for objects which
were not properly debitable to Malacca — con-

ordinate officials fifty dollars per annum, pro-
vided that thev would transfer their lands to
Government in order that the tenth might be
levied upon them in the same way as at
Malacca. The proposals met with a flat re-
fusal, and Mr. Lewis had to return to head-
quarters. Another attempt was made in the
following year to bring about the desired
result. On that occasion Mr. Church, the
Deputy Resident, was despatched with instruc-
tions to inform the Penghulu that Naning was
an integral part of Malacca territory, and that
it was intended by Government to subject it to
the general regulations affecting the rest of the
Malacca territor>-. He was further instructed
to take a census and to make it known that all
offenders, except in trivial matters, would in
future be sent down to Malacca for trial. As a
solatium for the loss of their power, iSIr. Church
was instructed to offer the Penghulu and the
other functionaries a pension. The pill, though

VIEW OF MALACCA.

victs, military, &c. Still, when every allowance
is made for the influence of the tendency of the
Indian authorities to place liabilities in the
Straits, we are faced with a position which
leaves us in wonder at the patience of the East
India Company in maintaining the settlement.
They were probably much in the historic posi-
tion of Micawber — waiting for something to
turn up. Something did turn up eventually, but
not until long after the Company's rule had
faded out.

When Mr. FuUerton had settled the land
system of Malacca proper,as has been narrated,
it occurred to him that it would be well also to
take in hand the adjustment of the land ques-
tion in the neighbouring territory of Naning.
.■Accordingly, in 1828 Mr. Lewis, the Assistant
Resident, was despatched to Tabu, the capital of
Naning, to interview the chief with a view to
the introduction of the system. He was em-
powered to offer the Penghulu the sum of six
hundred Spanish dollars, and each of the sub-
' " Straits Settlements Records," Xo. 195.

thus gilded, was not more palatable than it
had proved before. Mr. Church was allowed
to take the census, but his mission in other
respects was a failure. These evidences of an
obstinate disposition to disregard the Com-
pany's authority led Mr. FuUerton to take
measures for the despatch of an expedition to
bring the recalcitrant chief to his bearings.
Pending a reference of the matter to the
Supreme Government, no forward movement
was made, but on the forcible seizure and de-
tention of a man within the Malacca boundar\-
by order of the Penghulu, a proclamation wa>
issued declaring that Abdu Syed had forfeited
all claims, and was henceforth no longer Peng-
hulu of Naning.

At length the sanction of the Supreme
Government to the expedition was received,
and on .\ugust 6, 1831, the expeditionary
force commenced its march. It consisted
of 150 rank and file of the 29th Madras
Native Infantry, two 6-pounders, and a
small detaU of native artUlery, the whole

72

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

being under the command of Captain Wyllie,
Madras Native Infantry. On the gth the de-
tachment reached Wullikey, a village about
17 miles from Malacca and about five from
Tabu, the residence of the Penghulu. Owing
to the non-receipt of supplies and the unex-
pectedly severe resistance offered by the
Malays, Captain Wyllie deemed it best to
retreat. The force withdrew to Sungie-Pattye,
v/here it remained until August 24th, when
orders were received for its return to Malacca.
The heavy baggage was destroyed and the re-
treat commenced the same evening. On the
following morning the somewhat demoralised
force reached Malacca after a little fighting and
the loss of its two guns, which were abandoned
en route. This rather discreditable business
created a considerable sensation at the time in
Malacca, and there was some apprehension for
the safety of the town, which, until the arrival
of reinforcements from Madras, was almost
at the mercy of the Malays. However, the
Penghulu was not enterprising. If he had any
disposition to trouble it was probably checked
by the fact that the British authorities had con-
cluded a treaty of alliance and friendship with
the Rembau chiefs, who had assisted him in
his rebellion. In January, 1832, a new ex-
peditionary force was organised at Malacca
from troops which had arrived from Madras in
answer to the summons for aid. It consisted
of the 5th Madras N.I.,a company of rifles, two
companies of sappers and miners, and a detail
of European and native artillery. The troops,
which were under the command of Lieutenant-
Colonel Herbert, commenced their march early
in March. They encountered considerable re-
sistance near Alor Gajeh, and were compelled
for a time to act on the defensive. Reinforce-
ments, consisting mainly of the 46th Regiment,
were ultimately received from Pinang, and on
May 2ist offensive operations were resumed
with such success that Tabu fell on the isth
June. The Penghulu fled, and his property
and lands were confiscated to Government.
In 1834 he surrendered unconditionally to
the Government at Malacca, and was per-
mitted to reside in the town and draw a
pension of thirty rupees from the Government
treasury. Newbold described him as " a hale,
stout man, apparently about fifty years of age,
of a shrewd and observant disposition, though
strongly imbued with the superstitions of his
tribe." " His miraculous power in the cure of
diseases," Newbold added, "is still as firmly
believed as that of certain kings of England
was at no very remote period, and his house is
the daily resort of the health-seeking followers
of Mahomed, Fob, Brahma, and Buddha."

The operations from first to last cost the
Company no less than ten lakhs of rupees. For
some time after the expedition it was deemed
necessary to maintain a body of Madras troops
in the territory ; but the native population soon
settled down, and within a few years there was
no more contented class in the Company's
dominions.

Naning comes to us in direct descent from
the Portuguese, who took possession of it shortly
after the capture of Malacca by Albuquerque
in 1511. Previously it had formed an integral
part of the dominions of Mahomed Shah II.,
Sultan of Malacca, who, on the fall of his

capital, tied to Muar, thence to Pahang, and
finally to Johore, where he established a king-
dom. Naning remained nominally under the
Portuguese until 1641-42, when, with Malacca,
it fell into the hands of the Dutch. Valentyn
asserts that the treaty between the Dutch and
the Sultan ol Johore was that the town should
be given up to the Dutch and the land to the
Sultan of Johore, the Dutch reserving only so
much territory about the town as was required.
This reservation was so liberally construed by
the Netherlanders that they ultimately brought
under the control an area of nearly 50 miles
by 30, including the whole of Naning up to the
frontiers of Rembau and Johore. This line
at a later period was extended beyond Bukit
Bruang and Ramoan China to the left bank of
the Linggi river, which it now comprehends.

One of the questions which arose out of the
reoccupation of Malacca was the status of the
slaves resident in the settlement. In British
dominions at this time, as the poet Cowper had
proudly proclaimed a few years before, slaves
could not breathe —

" If their lungs
Receive our air, that moment they are free ;
They touch our country, and their shackles fall."

But poetry and law are not always in harmony,
and they were not so in this case. At all
events, there was sufficient doubt as to the
application of the famou^: Emancipation statutes
to give the authorities a considerable amount
of trouble. The most divergent views were
expressed locally on the subject. The main
question was whether slaves duly registered and
recognised as such under the previous Dutch
Government could be considered in a state
of slavery on the transfer of the settlement to
the British. The inhabitants petitioned the
Pinang authorities to accept the state of bond-
age on the ground of the confusion and loss
which would be caused by emancipation. Mr.
FuUerton, the Governor, in reply, called atten-
tion to the importance of putting a stop to
slavery within a certain period. Thereupon
the inhabitants met and passed a resolution
agreeing that slavery should cease at the ex-
piration of the year 1842. Meanwhile the
matter had been referred to Calcutta for legal
consideration, and in due course the opinion of
the law officers was forthcoming. It was held
that owing to the peculiar circumstances under
which Malacca had become a British settle-
ment the state of slavery must of necessity be
recognised wherever proof could be brought
forward of the parties having been in that state
under the Netherlandish Government. Eventu-
ally the question was settled on the basis of the
compromise suggested by the resolution of the
inhabitants at their public meeting. Thus
Malacca enjoyed the dubious honour of having
slaves amongst its residents many years after
slavery had ceased to exist in other parts of the
Empire.

The discussion of the slavery question
incidentally led to a sharp controversy on the
subject of press restrictions. The local news-
paper, the Malacca Observer, which was printed
at the Mission Press, in dealing with the points
at issue ventured to write somewhat strongly
on the attitude of the Government. Mr. Fuller-
ton, who took a strictly official view of the

functions of the press, and never tolerated the
least approach to freedom in newspaper com-
ments, peremptorily ordered the withdrawal of
the subsidy which the paper enjoyed from
the Government. Mr. Garling, the Resident
Councillor, in conveying the orders of his
superior to the offending newspaper, appears
to have intimated that the stoppage of the
allowance carried with it the withdrawal of the
censorship. Great was Mr. Fullerton's indig-
nation when he learned that his directions had
been thus interpreted. He indited a strongly-
worded communication to Mr. Garling, direct-
ing him to re-institute the control over the press,
and acquainting him that he would be held
responsible for any improper pubHcation that
might appear. Not content with this, the angry
official caused a long letter to be written to Mr.
Murchison, the Resident Councillor at Singa-
pore, expatiating on the magnitude of the
blunder that had been committed, and warning
him against a similar display of weakness in
the case of the Singapore paper. "The partial
and offensive style adopted by the editor of the
Malacca Observer in the discussion of local
slavery had," he said, "tended completely to
destroy the peace, harmony, and good order of
the settlement, and as that question had been
submitted to the Supreme Government it was
most desirable that the subsisting irritation
should be allowed to subside, and that, pending
reference, publications at a neighbouring settle-
ment having a tendency to keep it alive, and
coming professedly from the same channel,
should be discouraged." He therefore directed
that no observations bearing on the question
of local slavery at Malacca should be permitted
to appear in the Singapore Chronicle. After
pointing out that the printers were responsible
with the publishers, the letter proceeded : "That
a Press instituted for the purpose of diffusing
useful knowledge and the principles of religion
and morality should be made the instrument
for disseminating scandalous aspersions on the
Government under which they live, is a point
for the consideration of the managers in
Europe." Accompanying the letter was a
minute penned by Mr. Fullerton on the sub-
ject of the outrageous conduct of the newspaper
in writing freely on a matter of great public
interest. This document showed that the irate
Governor had a great command of minatory
language. He wrote : " A more indecent and
scurrilous production has seldom appeared,
and I can only express amazement that, with
all previous discussions before him connected
with the paper, Mr. Garling should have
thought of removing restraints, the necessity
of which was sufficiently demonstrated by
every paper brought before him." He ex-
pressed "the firm conviction that unless
supported by Mr. Garling himself such obser-
vations would never have appeared, and that
he has all along had the means of putting an
end to such lucubrations. The Government
contributes to the Free School 210.8 dollars per
month ; the editor is the master of the school,
drawing his means of subsistence from the
contribution of Government ; the printers are
the members of the Mission, alike supported by
Government, and I must repeat my belief that,
unless supported by Mr. Garling, the editor
never would have hazarded such observations.

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

73

THE BEACH, MALACCA.

. . . These circumstances only show how
utterly impracticable the existence of an unre-
stricted paper is to the state of the settlement,
and the endless wrangling and disputes it must
in so small a society create, and as I presume
the paper will now cease, any further measure
respecting it will be unnecessary ; the experi-
ment will no doubt be duly remembered should
any future applications be made to Government
to sanction such a publication."' Mr. Fuller-
ton's anticipation that his drastic measures of
discipline would be fatal to the Malacca Obser-
ver was realised. Soon after the withdrawal
of the subsidy the issue of the journal was
stopped, and a good many years passed be-
fore another newspaper was published in the
settlement.

Mr. FuUerton had a great opinion of the
conveniences and capabilities of Malacca. So
strongly indeed was he drawn to it that in 1828
he seriously proposed making the settlement
the capital. He urged as grounds for the
change that Malacca had been the seat of Euro-
pean Government for more than two hundred
years, that it had a more healthy climate than
Pinang, was more centrally situated, was
within two days' sail of Pinang and Singa-
pore, and had more resources than either of
those settlements for providing supplies for
troops. B'urthermore it, being on the conti-
nent, commanded an interior, and owing to
the shoal water no ship could approach near
enough to bring its guns to bear on the shore ;
• " Straits Settlements Records," Xo. 128.

it had an indigenous and attached population,
and in a political view it was conveniently
situated for maintaining such influence over
the Malay States as would prevent them from
faUing under Siamese dominion, and was near
enough to the end of the straits to enable the
proceedings of the Dutch to be watched. It
was said afterwards by Mr. Blundell, Governor
of the Straits, that there was much force in the
arguments, but that it had become so much the
habit to decry Malacca and pity the state into
which ic was supposed to have fallen, that the
argument would at that time only excite a smile
of ridicule. •

After the first shock of the Singapore com-
petition the trade of Malacca settled down into
a condition of stagnation from which it was
not to recover for many years. The com-
mercial transactions carried through almost
exclusively related to articles of local produc-
tion. The staple exports were gold-dust and
tin. In 1836 it was stated that annually about
Rs. 20,000 worth of the former and Rs. 150,000
of the latter were exported, chiefly to Madras,
Calcutta, Singapore, Pinang, and China. The
produce filtered through from the native Slates
in the Hinterland, and small as the annual
exports were, they were sufficient to show what
wealth might be drawn upon if only a settled
system of government were introduced into the
interior. As regards gold, the bulk of the pro-
duce came from Mount Ophir and its neigh-
bourhood. But from time to time there were
' ''Anecdotal History of Singapore," i. 228.

rumours of discoveries in other directions.
For example, in the records for 1828 is a Malacca
letter reporting the discovery of a gold mine in
the vicinity of the settlement. The mine was
said to yield a fair return to the 80 Chinese
engaged in working it, but the results were not
sufficiently good to promise any permanent
material advantage.

In later years the course of Malacca life has
been uneventful. " Happy is the nation that
has no history," writes the poet. We may
paraphrase the line and say, " Happy is the
settlement that has no history." If Malacca
has not been abundantly blessed with trade she
has had no great calamities or serious losses to
lament. She drifted on down the avenue of
time calmly and peacefully, like one of the
ancient regime who is above the ordinary sordid
realities of life, .i few years since the inno-
vating railway intruded upon the dull serenity
of her existence, bringing in its wake the bustle
of the twentieth century. This change will
become more pronounced with the extension
of the railway system throughout the peninsula.
Trade from the central districts will naturally
gravitate to Malacca, as the most convenient
outlet for all purposes on this part of the coast,
and the settlement will also benefit both directly
and indirectly from the development of the
rubber industry which is proceeding on every
hand. In this way the old prosperity of the port
will be revived, and she will once more plav an
active part in the commercial history of the
Straits.

D

THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES

By ARNOLD WRIGHT

{With chapters on the early history of the Malays and the Portuguese and Dutch periods by Mr. R. J. Wilkixson,

Secretary to the Resident of Perak).

CHAPTER I.

I X T R O D U C T O R Y

AXY successes have been
accomplished by British
administrators invarious
parts of the Empire, but
there is perhaps no more
remarkable achievement
to their credit than the
establishment of the
Federated Malay States
on their existing basis. Less than a half-
century- since, the territory embraced within
the confederation was a wild and thinly in-
habited region, over which a few untutored
chiefs exercised a mere semblance of authority.
Piracy was rife on the coast, and the interior,
where not impenetrable jungle or inaccessible
swamp, was given over to the savagest anar-
chical conditions. There was little legitimate
trade ; there were no proper roads ; the towns,
so called, were miserable collections of huts
devoid of even the rudiments of civilised life ;
the area was a sort of no-man'.i-land, where
the rule of might flourished in its nakedebt
form. To-day the States have a revenue
approaching twenty-five million dollars, and
they e.^port annually produce worth more
than eighty million dollars. There are over
2,500 miles of splendid roads, and 396 miles
of railways built at a cost of 37,261,922 dollars,
and earning annually upwards of four million
dollars. The population, which in 1879 was
only 81,084, is now close upon a million, and
there are towns which have nearly as many
inhabitants as were to be found in the entire
area before the advent of the British. A net-
work of postal and telegraph agencies covers
the land ; there are schools accommodating
nearly si.xteen thousand pupils, and hospitals
which annually minister to nearly sixty thousand
in-patients and one hundred and twenty thou-
sand out-patients. We may search in vain in
the annals of colonisation for a more brilliant
example of the successful application of sound
principles of government in the case of a
backward community residing in a wild, un-

developed region. And yet it would seem
that we are little more than on the threshold
of this great venture in administration. Such
is the richness and promise of this region that
the statistics of to-day may a few decades hence
pale into insignificance beside the results which
will then be presented. It is truly a wonderful
land, this over which the favouring shadow of
British protection has been cast, and the Briton
may point to it with legitimate pride as a con-
vincing proof that the genius of his race for
rule in subject lands exists in undiminished
strength.

Though the influences which have given this
notable addition to the Empire are almost en-
tirely modern, the importance of extending the
protecting influence of our flag to the Malay
States was long since recognised. Mr. John
-Anderson, in his famous pamphlet on the con-
quest of Kedah, to which reference has been
made in the earlier historical sections of this
work, argued strenuously in favour of a for-
ward policy in the peninsula. " In extending
our protecting influence to Quedah and de-
claring the other Malayan States under our
guardianship against foreign invasion, we
acquire," he wrote, " a vast increase of colonial
power without any outlay or hazard, and we
rescue from oppression a countless multitude
of human bemgs who will no doubt become
attached and faithful dependents ; we protect
them in the quiet pursuits of commerce, and
give life and energy to their exertions. We
shall acquire for our country the valuable pro-
ducts of these countries without those obnoxious
impositions under which we formerly derived
supplies from the West Indies." These saga-
cious counsels were re-echoed by Sir Stamford
Raffles in his " Memoir on the Administration
of the Eastern Islands," which he penned after
the occupation of Singapore. ■' .Among the
Malay States," he remarked, " we shall find
none of the obstacles which exist among the
more civilised people of India to the reception
of new customs and ideas. They have not
undergone the same artificial moulding ; they
are fresher from the hand of Nature, and the
absence of bigotry and inveterate prejudice
leaves them much more open to receive new
74

impressions. With a high reverence for

ancestrj- and nobility of descent, they are more
influenced, and are quicker discerners of supe-
riority of individual talent, than is usual among
people not far advanced in civilisation. They
are addicted to commerce, which has already
given a taste for luxuries, and this propensity
they indulge to the utmost extent of their
means. Among a people so unsophisticated
and so free from prejudices, it is obvious that
a greater scope is given to the influence of
example ; that in proportion as their inter-
course with Europeans increases, and a free
commerce adds to their resources, along with
the wants which will be created and the
luxuries supplied, the humanising arts of life
will also find their way ; and we may antici-
pate a much more rapid improvement than in
nations who, having once arrived at a high
point in civilisation and retrograded in the
scale, and now burdened by the recollection
of what they once were, are brought up in a
contempt for everything beyond their own
narrow circle, and who have for centuries
bent under the double load of foreign tyranny
and priestly intolerance. When these striking
and important difterences are taken into ac-
count, we may be permitted to indulge more
sanguine expectations of improvement among
the tribes of the Eastern Isles. We may look
forward to an early abolition of piracy and
illicit traffic when the seas shall be open to the
free current of commerce, and when the British
flag shall wave over them in protection of its
freedom and in promotion of its spirit." Here,
as usual. Raffles showed how completely he
understood the problems underlying the exist-
ence of British authority in the Straits. But
his and his brother-official's views were dis-
regarded by the timid oligarchy which had
the last voice in the direction of British
policy in Malaya at this period. Kedah,
as we have seen, was given over to its
fate. A little timely exertion of authority
would have saved that interesting State and
its people from the horrors of the Siamese
invasion, and have paved the way for the great
work which was commenced a half-century
later. But the Government in Calcutta shrank

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

75

from the small risk involved in the support of
the liaja, and a ruthless despotism was estab-
lished in the area, to the discredit of British
diplomacy and to the extreme detriment of
British trade.

Before entering upon a narration of the
various steps which led up to the establish-
ment of British influence in the greater part
of the Malay peninsula we may profitably
make a retrospective survey of this important
area in its ethnological and historical aspects.
For this purpose it will be appropriate to
introduce here some valuable chapters kindly
contributed by Mr. R. Wilkinson, of the
Federated Malay States Civil Service, who has
given much study to the early history of
Malaya.

CHAPTER II.
Wild Aboriginal Tribes.

It is a matter of common knowledge that the
Malays were not the first inhabitants of the
peninsula. Although they intermarried with
the aborigines, and although they show many
traces of mixed blood, they failed to completely
absorb the races that they supplanted. The
new settlers kept to the rivers ; the older races
lived on the mountains or among the swamps.
Some of the old tribes died out, some adopted
the ways of the Malays, but others retained
their own language and their primitive culture
and are still to be found in many parts of
British Malaya.

The negrito aborigines collectively known as
Semang are usually believed to have been the
first race to occupy the peninsula. As they are
closely akin to the Aetas of the Philippines and
the Mincopies of the Andamans, they must at
one time have covered large tracts of country
from which tliey have since completely dis-
appeared, but at the present day they are mere
survivals, and play no part whatever in civilised
life. Slowly but surely they are dying out.
Even within the last century they occupied the
swampy coast districts from Trang in the North
to the borders of Larut in the South, but at the
census of i8gi only one negrito, vifho, as the
enumerator said, "twittered like a bird," was
recorded from Province Wellesley, and in igoi
not one single survivor was found. Although
present-day students — who naturally prefer the
evidence of their own eyes to the records of
past observers — are inclined to regard the
Semang as a mountain people, it is quite
possible that their more natural habitat was
the swamp country from which they have been
expelled. Whether this be so or not, the
negritoes of British Malaya are usually divided
up by the Malays into three ; the Semang Paya
or Swamp-Semangs (now almost extinct) ; the
Semang Bukit or Mountain Semangs, who in-
habit the mountains of Upper Perak ; and the
Pangan, who are occasionally found in some of
the hills between Pahang and Kelantan.

The culture of some of these negrito tribes
is very primitive. The wilder Semangs are
extremely nomadic ; they are not acquainted
with any form of agriculture ; they use bows
and arrows ; they live in mere leaf-shelters,
with floors that are not raised above the
ground ; their quivers and other bamboo

utensils are very roughly made and adorned.
Such statements would not, however, be true
of the whole Semang race. A few tribes have
learned to plant ; others to use the blowpipe ;
others have very beautifully made quivers.
Some go so far — if Mr. Skeat is to be relied
upon — as to include the theft of a blunderbuss
in their little catalogues of crime. Unless, how-
ever, we are prepared to believe that they
invented such things as blunderbusses, we have

If identity of language is any criterion of
common orighi, the Northern Sakai racial
division includes the tribes known as the
"Sakai of Korbu," the "Sakai of the Plus,"
the "Sakai of Tanjong Rambutan " and the
" Tembe," who inhabit the Pahang side of the
great Kinta mountains. As these Northern
Sakai are rather darker than the Sakai of
Batang Padang, and not quite as dark as the
Semang, they have sometimes been classed as

j\^ jiip ji-^-. 5;0 OJ^^^

'^^Jii

A PAGE OF THE "MALAY ANNALS," THE GREAT HISTORICAL RECORD
OF THE MALAY RACE.

to admit that they must have borrowed some
of their neighbours' culture.

A few Semang are still to be found in the
mountains between Selaraa and the Perak
valleys. Others doubtless exist in the little
known country that lies between Temengor
and the river Plus ; but south of the Plus we
come to a fairer race, the northern division of
the numerous tribes that are often grouped
together as " Sakai."

a mere mixed race, a cross between their
northern and southern neighbours. This is
not necessarily the case. Their rather serious
appearance, for one thing, does not suggest an
admixture of the infantile physiognomy of the
Semang and the gay boyish looks of the Sakai
of Slim and Bidor. Moreover, their industrial
art — to judge by blowpipes and quivers — is
higher than that of their neighbours. They
practise agriculture, and live in small houses

76

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

raised above the ground — the commonest type
of house throughout Indo-China.

The expression " Central Sakai " has been
used to cover a group of tribes who Uve in the
Batang Padang mountains and speak what is
practically a common language — though there
are a few dialectic differences in the different
parts of this district. Mr. Hugh Clifford was
the first to point out the curiously abrupt racial
frontier between the " Tembe " to the north
and the " Senoi " (his name for the Central
Sakai) to the south. But all the secrets of this
racial frontier have not yet been revealed.
Although the Sakai who live in the valleys
above Gopeng speak a language that very
closely resembles the language of the Sakai
of Bidor, Sungkai and Slim, they seem still
closer akin — racially — to their neighbours in
the north. Moreover, if we look up from

than those of their northern and southern
neighbours. Linguistically we are still in the
" Central Sakai " region.

Near Tanjong Malim (the boundary between
Perak and Selangor) the type suddenly changes.
We come upon fresh tribes differing in appear-
ance from the Central Sakai, living (in some
cases) in lofty tree huts, and speaking varieties
of the great " Besisi " group of Sakai dialects.
The men who speak these Besisi dialects
seem to be a very mixed race. Some — dwell-
ing in the Selangor mountains — are a singularly
well built race. Others who live in the swamps
and in the coast districts are a more miserable
people of slighter build, and with a certain
suggestion of negrito admixture. Their culture
is comparatively high. They have a more
elaborate social system, with triple headmen
instead of a solitary village elder to rule the

TYPES OF SAKAI QUIVERS.

A, B, c, D, Semang Quivers.

H, Quiver from Slim.

E, F, Nortliern Sakai Quivers.
I, J, Besisi Quivers.

G, Batang Padang Quiver.
K, Kuantan Quiver.

Gopeng to the far mountains lying just to the
north of Gunong Berembun, we can see clear-
ings made by another tribe — the Mai Liik or
" men of the mountains," of whom the Central
Sakai stand in deadly fear. These mysterious
Mai Luk have communal houses like the
Borneo Dyaks, they plant vegetables, they paint
their foreheads, they are credited with great
ferocity, and they speak a language of which the
only thing known is that it is not Central Sakai.
As we proceed further south the racial type
slowly changes until — in the mountains behind
Tapah, Bidor, Sungkai and Slim — we come to a
distinct and unmistakable type that is compara-
ti-^ely well known to European students. These
Mai Darat, or hill men, are slightly lower in
culture than the Northern Sakai ; they live in
shelters rather than huts ; their quivers and
blowpipes are very much more simply made

small community. This form of tribal organisa-
tion— under a bafiii, jenang, an&ickra [or jura
krah) — is common to a very large number of
tribes in the south of the peninsula, and is also
found among the Orang Laut, or Sea-gipsies.
The Besisi tribes cultivate the soil, build fair
houses, have some artistic sense, are fond of
music, possess a few primitive songs, and
know something of the art of navigation. They
are found all over Selangor, Negri Sembilan,
and Malacca.

In the mountains of Jelebu, near the head-
waters of the Kongkoi and Kenaboi rivers, are
found the Kenaboi, a shy and mysterious people
who speak a language totally unlike either
Central Sakai, Besisi, or Malay. So little is
known about the Kenaboi that it would be
dangerous to commit oneself to any conjecture
regarding their position in the ethnography of

the peninsula, but it is at least probable that
they represent a distinct and very interesting
racial element. In the flat country on the
border between Negri Sembilan and Pahang
we meet the Serting Sakai, an important and
rather large tribe that seems at one time to
have been in contact with some early Mon-
Anam civilisation. Moreover, it is said that
there are traces of ancient canal-cuttings in the
country that this tribe occupies. By the upper
wajers of the Rompin river there Uve many
Sakai of whom very little is known. They
may be "Besisi," "Serting Sakai," "Jakun,"
or "Sakai of Kuantan." The term "Jakun " is
applied to a large number of remnants of old
Malacca and Johore tribes that have now been
so much affected by Malay civilisation as to
make it impossible to ever hope to clear up the
mystery of their origin. A few brief Jakun
vocabularies have been collected in the past, a
few customs noted. It is perhaps too much to
expect that anything more will ever be done.

The aborigines who inhabit the country
near Kuantan (and perhaps near Pekan, and
even further south) speak a language of their
own, of which no vocabulary has ever been
collected, and use curious wooden blowpipes
of a very unusual type. They may be a dis-
tinct race, as they seem to have a primitive
culture that is quite peculiar to themselves.
In the mountainous region lying between
this Kuantan district and the Tembeling river
there is found another tribe of Sakais, who wear
strange rattan girdles like the Borneo Dyaks,
and speak a language of which one observer,
though acquainted with Malay, Central Sakai,
and Northern Sakai, could make out nothing.
In the mountain mass known as Gunong
Benom (in Pahang) there are found other
tribes of Sakais speaking a language that has
some kinship with Besisi and Serting Sakai.
Very little else is known about them.

We possess fairly good specimens — vocabu-
laries of the languages of all the better known
Sakai and Semang dialects. With the single
exception of Kenaboi, they have a very
marked common element, and may be classed
as divisions of the same language, although the
peoples that speak them show such differences
of race and culture. This language is compli-
cated and inflected, and it has an elaborate
grammar, but so little is known of the details
of its structure that we dare not generalise or
point to any one dialect as being probably
the purest form of Sakai. It is impossible also
to say which race first brought this form of
speech to the peninsula. It would, however,
be rash to assume that Sakai and Kenaboi are
the only two distinctive types of language used
by these wild tribes. Nothing sufficient is yet
known of the speech of the Mai Luk, of the
dialects of Kuantan, and of the old Jakun lan-
guages. Far too much has been inferred from
the customs of what one may term the " stock "
tribes of Sakai — the tribes that are readily acces-
sible and therefore easy to study. Such peoples
have been visited again and again by casual
observers, to the neglect of the remoter and
lesser-known tribes, who may prove to be far
more interesting in the end. When we
consider the physical differences between tribe
and tribe, the differences of language, the
differences of culture evinced in types of

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

77

dwellings, in tribal organisation, in weapons,
and in mode of life, we may perhaps be ex-
cused for thinking that the racial elements in
the peninsula will prove to be more numerous
and important than scientists are apt to believe.

Meanwhile the peninsula presents us with a
curious historical museum, showing every grade
of primitive culture. It gives us the humble
negrito who has not learnt to till the ground,
but wanders over the country and lives from
hand to mouth on the products of the jungle.
It gives us the same negrito after he has learnt
the rudiments of art and agriculture from his
Sakai neighbours. It gives us the Sakai who
grows certain simple fruits and vegetables, and
is nomadic in a far slighter degree than the
primitive Semang. A man who plants is a
man who lives some time in one place, and
therefore may find it worth his vs'hile to build
a more substantial dwelling than a mere shelter
for a night. Here, however, primitive culture
stops. Even the man who has learnt to plant
a crop in a clearing must abandon his home
when the soil begins to be exhausted. The
boundary between primitive culture and
civilisation cannot be said to be reached
until habitations become really permanent,
and until a comparatively small area can
support a large population. That boundary
is therefore crossed when a people learn to
renew the fertility of land by irrigation or by
.manuring, or by a proper system of rotation of
crops. The Malays, with their system of rice-
planting — the irrigated rice, not hill rice — have
crossed that boundary. But no Sakai tribe has
yet done so.

Mr. Cameron, in his work on Malaya, gives
an interesting description of the aborigines. A
few passages relative to the tribal beliefs may
be cited.

" The accounts of their origin," he says, " are
amusing. . . . Among one tribe it is stated,
and with all gravity, that they are descended
from two white apes, Ounkeh Puteh, who,
having reared their young ones, sent them
into the plains, where the greater number
perfected so well that they became men ;
those who did not become men returned once
more to the mountains, and still continue apes.
Another account, less favourable to the theory
.of progressive creation, is that God, having in
heaven called into life a being endowed with
great strength and beauty, named him Batin.
God, desirous that a form so fair should be
perpetirated, gave to Batin a companion, and
told him to seek a dwelling upon earth.
Charmed with its beauties, Batin and his
companion alighted and took up their abode
on the banks of the river of Johore, close to
Sijigapore, increasing and multiplying with a
rapidity and to a degree now unknown, and
from these two, they say, all the tribes of the
peninsula are descended."

Another tribe, the Binnas, give an account
of their origin which strongly recalls the
Xoachian story of Scripture. " The ground,
they say, on which we stand is not solid. It
is merely the skin of the earth (Kulit Bumi).
In ancient times God broke up this skin, so
that the world was destroyed and over-
whelmed with water. Afterwards he caused
Gunong Lulumut, with Chimundang'and Bech-
nak, to rise, and this low land which we

inhabit was formed later. These mountains
on the south, and Mount Ophir, Gunong Kap,
Gunong Tonkat Bangsi and Gunong Tonkat
Subang on the north (all mountains within a
short radius), give a fixity to the earth's skin.
The earth still depends entirely on these
mountains for steadiness. The Lulumut
mountains are Ihe oldest land. The summit
of Gunong Tonkat Bangsi is within one foot
of the sky, that of Gunong Tonkat Subang is
within an ear-ring's length, and that of Gunong
Kap is in contact with it. After Lulumut had
emerged a prahu of pulai wood, covered over
and without any opening, floated on the
waters. In this God had enclosed a man
and a woman whom He had made. After
the lapse of some time the prahu was neither
directed with nor against the current, nor driven
to and fro. The man and woman, feeling it to
rest motionless, nibbled their way through it,
stood on the dry ground, and beheld this our
world. At first, however, everything was
obscure. There was neither morning nor
evening, because the sun had not yet been
made. When it became light they saw seven
Sindudo trees and seven plants of Ramput
Sambau. They then said to each other, ' In
what a condition are we, without children
or grandchildren ! ' Some time afterwards
the woman became pregnant, not, however,
in her womb, but in the calves of her legs.
From the right leg was brought forth a male
and from the left a female child. Hence it is
that the issue of the same womb cannot inter-
marry. All mankind are the descendants of
the two children of the first pair. When
men had much increased God looked down
upon them with pleasure and reckoned their
numbers." The Mantra tribe behind JMount
Ophir have a somewhat similar legend.
"They say that their fathers came originally
from heaven in a large and magnificent ship
built by God, which was set floating on the
waters of the earth. The ship sailed with fear-
ful rapidity round and about the earth till it
grounded upon one of the mountains of the
peninsula, where they declare it is still to be
seen. Their fathers disembarked and took up
their abode on the new earth, some on the
coast, some on the plains, and others on the
mountains, but all under one chief called
Batin Alam."

Their description of the probable end of the
world, as given by Mr. Cameron from notes
supplied him by Father Borie, a Roman
Catholic missionary to the Jakun near
Malacca, may be given as a pendant to these
curious traditions : " The human race having
ceased to five, a great wind will arise accom-
panied by rain, the waters wilt descend with
rapidity, lightning will fill the space all around,
and the mountains will sink down ; then a
great heat will succeed ; there will be no more
night, and the earth will wither like the grass
in the field ; God will then come down
surrounded by an immense whirlwind of flame,
ready to consume the universe. But God will
first assemble the souls of the sinners, burn
them for the first time and weigh them, after
having collected their ashes by means of a
fine piece of linen cloth. Those who will
have thus passed the first time through the
furnace without having been purified will be

successively burned and weighed for seven
times, when all those souls which have been
purified will go to enjoy the happiness of
heaven, and those that cannot be purified—
that is to say, the souls of great sinners, such
as homicides and those who have been guilty
of rape— will be cast into hell, where they will
suffer the torments of flames in company with
devils ; there will be tigers and serpents in hell
to torment the damned. Lastly, God, having
taken a light from hell, will close the portals
and then set fire to the earth."

CHAPTER III.

Early Civilisation.

Although the British possessions in Malaya
are not absolutely destitute of archteological
remains, they are singularly poor in rehcs of
antiquity when contrasted with Java and Cam-
bodia, or even with the northern part of the
peninsula itself. Ancient inscriptions have
been found in Kedah, in the Northern District
of Province Wellesley, in the Central District
of Province Wellesley, and, as has been noted,
in the island of Singapore. That in Kedah has
been completely deciphered ; it is a Buddhist
formula, such as might have been written up
in the cell or cave of an ascetic. That in the
north of Province Wellesley was carved on a
pillar that seemed to form part of a little
temple ; it has not been completely deciphered,
but from the form of the written character it is
believed to date back to the year 400 A.D., and
to be the oldest inscription in this part of the
world, unless, indeed, the Kedah writing is
slightly more ancient. The rock carvings at
Cheroh Tokun, near Bukit Mertajam, belong to
various dates and are too worn away to be read
in connected sentences ; the oldest seems to go
back to the fifth century and another to the
sixth century A.D. As the monument in Singa-
pore was blown up by the Public Works
Department in order to make room for some
town improvements, it is no longer available
for study, but from a rough copy made before
its destruction it seems to have been in the
ancient Kawi character of Java or Sumatra,
It probably dates back to the thirteenth or four-
teenth century A.u. Another inscription, pre-
sumably of the same class, is to be seen at Pulau
Karimun, near Singapore.

Near Pengkalan Kampas, on the Linggi
river, there are a number of broken monu-
ments which, though they seem to be of
comparatively recent date, are of considerable
interest. On a curious four-sided pillar there
are four inscriptions, two in clear-cut Arabic
and two in the fainter lettering of an unknown
script. Below these inscriptions there is a
circular hole cut right through the pillar and
just large enough to permit of the passage of a
man's arm— it is, indeed, believed that this pillar
(which has been much used for oaths and
ordeals) will tighten round the arm of anv man
who is rash enough to swear falsely when in its
power. Near this pillar is another cut stone
on which the lettering of some old non- Arabic
insciiption can be dimly seen. As there are
many other fragments of carved stone that go to

D *

78

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

make up the kramat, or holy place, of which the
inscriptions form part, the Malays have invented
a legend that these monuments represent the
petrified property of an ancient saint — his
spoon, his sword, and his buclcler. Maho-
medan zeal seems also to have carved the holy
name of Allah on the sword of the saint, and to

some curious old bronzes resembling bells that
have been dug up at Klang, in Selangor, (2) in
a little bronze image suggestive of a Buddha
that was discovered in a Tanjong Rambutan
mine at a depth of some 60 feet below the
surface, (3) in an old Bernam tomb beautifully
constructed of thin slabs of stone and con-

■ .!iM,-<in.T(J'.°'

•ff^--'-

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K

^■k

x

"1,

/ !"

^'"r-r' ^nW U ::v3

Who were the men who left these remains ?
If it is true (as the condition of the Selinsing
workings seems to suggest) that the mines were
suddenly abandoned in the very midst of the
work that was being done, such a fact would
lend further support to the natural conjecture
that the miners were only foreign adventurers
who exploited the wealth of the peninsula and
did not make the country their permanent
home. The Malays say that these alien miners
were " men of Siam." Is this true ? Students
are apt to forget that "men of Siam" — seven
or eight centuries ago — would refer to the
great and highly-civilised Cambodian race who
occupied the valley of the Menam before the
coming of the " Thai," from whom the present
Siamese are descended. It is therefore pro-
bable enough that the Malays are right, and
that the mining shafts of Selinsing are due to
the people who built the magnificent temples
of Angkor. Further evidence — if such evidence
is needed — may be found in the fact that the
Sakai of certain parts of Pahang use numerals
that are neither Siamese nor Malay nor true
Sakai, but non-Khmer.

The general conclusion that one is forced to
draw from the traces of ancient culture in the
peninsula is that the southern portions of. the
country were often visited, but never actually
occupied by any civilised race until the Malays
came in a.d. 1400. Such a conclusion would
not, however, be true of the Northern States —
of Kedah, Kelantan, Trang, and Singgora.
There we find undoubted evidence of the
existence of powerful Buddhist States like that
of Langkasuka, the kingdom of alang-kah suka
or of the Golden Age of Kedah, still re-
membered as a fairyland of Malay romance.
This Langkasuka was a very ancient State
indeed. It is mentioned in Chinese records as
Langgasu as far back as 500 a.d., and was then
reputed to be four centuries old ; it appears (in
Javanese literature) as one of the kingdoms
overcome by Majapahit in a.d. 1377 ; its name
probably survives to this day in the " Langkawi"
islands off the Kedah coast. But the ancient
States of Northern Malaya lie outside the
scope of this essay. They are interesting
because they probably sent small mining
colonies to the south, and thus claimed some
sort of dominion over the rest of the peninsula.
The great Siamese invasion changed all that.
By crushing the Northern States during the
thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries
A.D., it ruined their little southern colonies, and
left the territories of Perak, Johore, Malacca,
and Pahang a mere no-man's-land that the
Malays from Sumatra could easily occupy.

INSCRIPTION FROM NORTH PROVINCE WELLBSLEY.

(See p. 77.)

CHAPTER IV.

The Coming of the Malays.

have converted the first line of the inscriptions
into the well-known formula, " In the name of
God, the Merciful, the Compassionate." Frag-
ments of other monuments may be seen lying
low in the swamp near which this Linggi
kramat is built up.

Besides these inscriptions, traces of ancient
non-Malayan civilisations have been found (i) in

taining some broken pottery and three cornelian
beads, and (4) in pottery and iron mining tools
that are continually being met with in old
mining workings. More impressive, however,
than any of these small relics are the galleries,
slopes, and shafts of the old mines at Selinsing,
in Pahang — the work of a race that must have
possessed no small degree of mechanical skill.

According to a tradition that is accepted in
almost every portion of Malaya, the founder
of the most famous native dynasties was a
Prince named Sang Sapurba, son of Raja
Suran, the " Ruler of the East and of the
West," by his marriage with a mermaid, the
daughter of the kings of the sea. This Prince
first revealed himself upon the hill of Sigun-

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

79

tang, near Mount Mahameru, in the hinterland
of Palembang. Two young girls who dwelt
upon the hill are said to have seen a great
light shining through the darkness of night.
On ascending the hill in the morning they

THE

'SWOKD OF THE SAINT.
(See p. 76.)

found that their rice-crops had been trans-
formed— the grain into gold, the leaves into
silver, the stalks into golden brass. Proceeding
further, they came across three young men, the
eldest of whom was mounted on a silver-white
bull and was dressed as a king, while the two
younger, his brothers, bore the sword and
spear that indicated sovereign power. " Who,
then, are you — spirits or fairies?" said the
astonished girls. " Neither spirits nor fairies,
but men," said one of the brothers ; " we are
Princes of the race of the Great Alexander; we
have his seal, his sword, and his spear ;
we seek his inheritance on earth." " And
what proof have you of this ? " said tbe girls.
" Let the crown I wear bear me witness if
necessary," replied the eldest Prince ; "but
what of that ? Is it for naught that my coming
has been marked by this crop of golden
grain ? " Then out of the mouth of the bull
there issued a sweet-voiced herald, who at
once proclaimed the Prince to be a king
bearing the title of Sang Sapurba Trimurti
Tribuana. The newly - installed sovereign
afterwards descended from the hill of Sigun-
tang into the great plain watered by the
Palembang river, where he married the
daughter of the local chief, Demang Lebar
Daun, and was everywhere accepted as ruler
of the country. At a later date he is said to

have crossed the great central range of Sumatra
into the mountains of Menangkabau, where he
slew the great dragon Si-Katimuna, and was
made the king of a grateful people and the
founder of the long line of Princes of Menang-
kabau, the noblest dynasty of Malaya. Mean-
while, however, his relatives in Palembang
had crossed the sea, first to the island of
Bintang and afterwards from Bintang to the
island of Tamasak, on which they founded the
city of Singapore. " And the city of Singapore
became mighty ; and its fame filled all the
earth." Such, at least, is the story that is told
us in the "Malay Annals."

It is very easy to criticise this story — to
point out that the tale of the Macedonian origin
of Malay kings is too absurd for acceptance,
and that the miraculous incidents do not
commend themselves to the sceptical historians
of the present day. It is also possible to show
that there are actuall}- two entirely different
versions of the story in the manuscripts of the
" Malay Annals," and that both these versions
differ from a third version given by the
annalist himself to his contemporary, the author
of the Malay book known as the " Bustanu's
salatin." Xo one need treat this legend of
Sang Sapurba as actual history. But the
ancient kingdoms of Singapore and Palembang
are no myth ; the latter, at least, must have
played a great part in history. Nor is the
legend in any way an invention of the author
of the " Malay Annals " ; it occurs in still earlier
books, and is folklore throughout Perak at the
present day. The Sultan of Perak claims
direct descent from Sang Sapurba ; one of his
chiefs, the Dato' Sri Nara Diraja, is the lineal
representative of the herald who came out of
the mouth of the bull. As late as February,
1907, the Raja Bendahara was installed (in the
High Commissioner's presence) by the Dato'
Sri Nara Diraja reciting over him the mystic
words — in a forgotten tongue — that the latter
chief's ancestor is said to have used at the
proclamation of Sang Sapurba himself. The
origin of these ancient legends and old-world
ceremonies is lost in the dimness of past
centuries, but it may, to some extent, be
explained by the light that Chinese records
throw upon Malay history.

We know with absolute certainty from the
accounts of Chinese trade with Sumatra that
the kingdom of Palembang was a powerful
State certainly as far back as the year goo a.d.,
perhaps even as far back as the year 450 a.d.
We even possess the names (often mutilated
beyond recognition by Chinese transcribers) of
a large number of the old Kings of Palembang.
We can see that these ancient rulers bore
high-sounding Sanskrit titles, almost invari-
ably beginning with the royal honorific sri
that is still used by great Malay dignitaries.
But while the Malay annalist allows a single
generation to cover tire whole period from the
founding of the State of Palembang by Sang
Sapurba down to the establishment of the city
of Singapore, we are in a position to see that
the period in question must have covered
many centuries, and that even a millennium
may have elapsed between the days of the
founder of Palembang and those of the
coloniser of Tamasak or Singapore. Although
Sang Sapurba may be nothing more than a

name, the ancient legend is historical in so far
that there must have been a time when an
Indian or Javanese dynasty with a very high
conception of kingly power supplanted the
unambitious Palembang headmen, who bore
homely titles like Demang Lebar Daun, and
claimed no social superiority over their fellow-
villagers. The story given us in the " Malay
Annals " is only an idealised version of what
must have really occurred. The most mys-
terious feature in the legend is the reference
to Mount Siguntang. Although this famous
hill (which is believed by all Malays to be the
cradle of their race) is located with curious
definiteness on the slopes of the great volcano.
Mount Dempo, in the hinterland of Palembang,
there is no local tradition to guide us to the
exact spot or to suggest to us why that locality,
above all others, should be singled out for
special honour. The culture of the Malay
States that accepted the Hinduised Palembang
tradition differs completely from that of the
primitive Sumatran communities who have
not been affected by foreign influence. Such

INSCRIPTION NEAR PENGKALAN
KAMPAS.
(See p. 77.)

differences could not have been brought about
in any brief period of time. The history of the
State of Palembang must go back extremely
far into the past ; and, if only we could

80

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

unearth some real records, they might explain
why the proud rulers of the country thought it
an honour to claim descent from some still
more ancient dynasty associated with the name
of a hill district from which all traces of
imperial power have long since passed away.

In the reign of the Chinese Emperor Hsiau
Wu (a.d. 454-464), a kingdom of "Kandali"
sent articles of gold and silver to China. In
A.D. 502 a king of- this same Kandali sent an
envoy to China with other valuable gifts.
In A.D. 519, and again in A.D. 520, similar
missions were sent. After this date " Kandali"
disappears from history. Although Chinese
records positively identify this country with
San-bo-tsai or Palembang, all that contem-
porary Chinese notices tell us about Kandali
is that it was a Buddhist kingdom on an island
in the Southern Sea, that its customs were
those of Cambodia and Siam, that it produced
flowered cloth, cotton, and excellent areca-nuts,
and that its kings sent letters to the Chinese
Emperor congratulating him on his fervent
faith in Buddhism. Still, as one of these
kings is reported to have compared the
Chinese Emperor to a mountain covered with
snow, we may take it that the accuracy of even
this meagre account of Kandali is not above
suspicion. We can perhaps see traces of
Javanese influence in the reference to " flowered
cloth," as the words suggest the painted floral
designs of Java rather than the woven plaid-
patterns of the Malays.

In A.D. 905 Palembang reappears in Chinese
records under the name of San-bo-tsai. In

BBONZE IMAGE FROM TANJONG

EAMBUTAN.

(See- p. 78.)

that year the ruler of San-bo-tsai " sent tribute"
to China and received from the Emperor the
proud title of "the General who pacifies Distant
Countries." In A.D. 960 "tribute" was again

sent — twice. In a.d. 962 the same thing oc-
curred. From A.D. 962 onwards we have a
continuous record of similar tribute-bearing
missions until the year 1178, when the Chinese
Emperor found that this tribute was too expen-
sive a luxury to be kept up, so he " issued an
edict that they should not come to court any
more, but make an establishment in the Fukien
province." After this date the Palembang
merchants ceased to be tribute-bearers and
became ordinary traders — a change which
caused them to temporarily disappear from
official records. " Tribute " was, of course,
merely a gift made to the Emperor in order
to secure his permission to trade ; it flattered
his pride, and was invariably returned to the
giver in the form of titles and presents of very
high value. So much was this the case that
Chinese statesmen, when economically in-
clined, were in the habit of protesting against
the extravagance of accepting tribute. None
the less the Emperor encouraged these men of
Palembang, for in A.D. 1156 he declared that
" when distant people feel themselves attracted
by our civilising influence their discernment
must be praised." One Malay envoy received
the title of " the General who is attracted by
Virtue," a second was called "the General who
cherishes Civilising Influence," a third was
named " the General who supports Obedience
and cherishes Renovation." The manners of
the men of San-bo-tsai must have been as
ingratiating as those of their successors, the
Malays of the present day.

The Kings of San-bo-tsai are .said to have
used the Sanskrit character in their writings
and to have sealed documents with their signets
instead of signing them with their names.
One king is mentioned (A.D. 1017) as having
sent among his presents " Sanskrit books folded
between boards." Their capital was a fortified
city with a wall of piled bricks several miles in
circumference, but the people are said to have
lived in scattered villages outside the town and
to have been e.xempt from direct taxation. In
case of war " they at once select a chief to lead
them, every man providing his own arms and
provisions." From these Chinese records we
also learn that in A.D. 1003 the Emperor sent a
gift of bells to a Buddhist temple in San-bo-tsai.
As regards trade, the country is recorded as
producing rattans, lignum-aloes, areca-nuts,
coconuts, rice, poultry, ivory, rhinoceros horns,
camphor, and cotton-cloth. In the matter of
luxuries we are told that the people made in-
toxicating drinks out of coconut, areca-nut, and
honey, that they used musical instruments (a
small guitar and small drums), and that they
possessed imported slaves who made music for
them by stamping on the ground and singing.
In A.D. 992 we hear of a war between the
Javanese and the people of Palembang. It
seems, therefore, quite certain that Palembang
— between the years 900 and 1360 a.d. — was a
country of considerable civilisation and import-
ance, owing its culture to Indian sources and
perhaps possessing very close affinities to the
powerful States of Java. What, then, were the
events that brought about the downfall of this
great Malayan kingdom ?

The close of the thirteenth century in China
saw the Mongol invasion that ended in making
Kublai Khan the undisputed overlord of the

whole country. That restless conqueror was
not, however, satisfied with his continental
dominions ; he fitted out great fleets to extend
his power over the Japanese islands in the

A TOMBSTONE PBOM BBUAS.
(See p. ;8.)

north and over the island of Java in the south.
He began a period of war, during which we
hear nothing of the trade with the States in the
Southern Seas.

The advent of the Ming dynasty (a.d. 1368)
commenced a new era of peace and commerce,
in which we again find mention of the State of
Palembang. Great changes had, however,
taken place since the last reference to the
country in a.d. 1178. San-bo-tsai had been
split up into three States. We hear (a.d. 1373)
of a King Tan ma-sa-na-ho — probably the
King of Tamasak or Singapore. We hear also
(a.d. 1374) of a King Ma-na-ha-pau-lin-pang
— probably the King of Palembang. The
King Tan-ma-sa-na-ho died in a.d. 1376, and
.his successor, Ma~la-cha Wu-li, ordered the
usual eirvoys to go to China, and was sent in
return a seal and commission as King of San-
bo-tsai. The Chinese annalist goes on to say :

'' At that time, however, San-bo-tsai had
already been conquered by Java, and the
King of this country, hearing that the Emperor
had appointed a king over San-bo-tsai, became
very angry and sent men who waylaid and
killed the Imperial envoys. The Enjperor did
not think it right to punish him on this
account. After this occurrence San-bo-tsai
became gradually poorer, and no tribute was
brought from this country any more."

Chinese, Malay, and Javanese historical
records all agree in referring to a great war

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

81

of conquest carried on by the Javanese Empire
of Majapahit and ending in the destruction of
Singapore and Palembang, as well as in the
temporary subjugation of many other Malay
States, such as Pasai, Samudra, and even
Kedah, Kelantan, Trengganu, and Pahang.
The Chinese records enable us to definitely
fix the date— A.D. 1377. It is a great landmark
in Malay history, for the fugitives driven by the
Javanese from Palembang and Singapore settled
down in the peninsula and founded the famous
city of Malacca.

We come now to the founding of Singapore,
which, although dealt with in our opening
section, may be referred to at greater length
in this survey of Malay history. The name of
Singapiira was only an honorific title given
to an island that was known and continued to
be known as Tamasak. Of the existence of
this old Malay State of Singapore or Tamasak
there can be no doubt whatever, as Chinese,
Siamese, Malay, and Javanese records agree
upon the point. Of the fact that Singapore
was a colony from Palembang there can also
be no doubt, since both the Chinese and the
Malay records bear out this version of the
origin of the city. An inscription in the Kawi
character was found by Raffles at Singapore,
but it was blown up at a later date by a dis-
creditable act of vandalism, and from the
fragments left it is impossible to say definitely
whether it was carved by the Palembang
colonists or by the Javanese conquerors who
destroyed the city in A.D. 1377. The "Malay
Annals" tell us a good deal about the place,
but tell us nothing that is really reliable. They
say that Sang Nila Utama, the founder of the
State, was driven to the island by a storm of
wind, in the course of which he lost his royal
crown — a story suggesting that the founder
was not a reigning prince when he came to
settle in the island, and that his followers had
to invent a story to explain away his lack of
the usual insignia of royalty. He was, how-
ever, probably of r05'al blood, since the Chinese
envoys were afterwards willing to recognise
his descendants as rulers of Palembang. The
" Annals " also tell us that five kings reigned in
Singapore, as shown in the following table :

If this pedigree is to be accepted, the old
State of Singapore must have lasted for several
generations, but the annalist who drew it up
gave another pedigree to his friend, Xuru'ddin
Raniri al-Hasanji, the author of the " Bustanu's
salatin." The other pedigree is as follows :

ends with the ominous words that the blood
of the boy who saved the city from the sword-
fish, and was put to death lest his cleverness
should prove a public danger, rested upon the
island as a .curse to be wiped out in days to
come. The story of Tun Jana Khatib is the

Raja Shkan
(King of the East and West)

I

Sang Sapurba
(King of Menangkabau)

I
Sang Baniaka
(King of Tanjong Pura)

I
Sang Nila Utama
(First King of Singapore)

I

I

Raja Kechil Besar

(Paduka Sri PSkSrma diraja,

second King of Singapore)

I

Sri Rana Adikarma

(Iskandar Shah, third King of

Singapore and first of Malacca)

Sultan Ahmad Shah
(Second Sultan of Malacca)

I
Raja Kechil Muda

This second pedigree gives a much shorter
life to the old State of Singapore, and (since it
came from the same source as the other
pedigree) shows that neither account can be
considered altogether reliable. It also suggests
its own inaccuracy, since " Iskandar Shah " is
not a name that any non-Mahomedan prince
of Singapore would have borne at that period.
The probability is that the ancient kingdom of
Tamasak was a mere off-shoot of the State
of Palembang, that it did not last for any
length of time, and that it came to a sudden
and terrible end in the year of the great
Javanese invasion, a.d. 1377.

The account of Singapore in the " Malay
Annals " is entirely mythical — from the open-
ing tale about the lion that Sang Nila Utama
discovered on the island down to the conclud-
ing stories about the attack made by the
sword-fish upon the city, and about the fate of
Sang Ranjuna Tapa, the traitor who betrayed
the city to the Javanese and was turned into
stone as a punishment for his sin. Yet in all
this mythical account there is a suggestion of
infinite tragedy. The story of the sword-fish

Raja Suran
(King of the East and of the West)

Sang Sapurba
(King of Menangkabau)
I

Nila Pahlawan

I
Kisna Pandita

I
Sang Maniaka

Sang Nila Utama
(First King of Singapore)

I

I
Raja Kechil Besar
(Peduka Sri Pikrama Wira,
second King of Singapore)

I

Raja Muda

(Sri Rama Wirakrama,

third King of Singapore)

I

Paduka Sri Maharaja

(Fourth King of Singapore)

Raja Iskandar Dzu'l-karnain

(Fifth and last King of Singapore

and first Sultan of Malacca)

I

Raja Kechil Muda

(Tun Parapalih Parmuka

Berjajar)

1
Tun Parapatih Tulus

tale of another awful deed of wrong. The last
tale in the narrative is that of the injury which
maddened Sang Ranjuna Tapa into treason —
the cruel fate of his daughter, who was publicly
impaled on a mere suspicion of infidelity to her
lover, the King. More than once does the
annalist seem to suggest the Nemesis that
waits upon deeds of oppression. In the end
the Javanese came ; the city was betrayed ;
"blood flowed like water in full inundation,
and the plain of Singapore is red as with blood
to this day." A curse rented on the place. In
A.D. i8ig, more than four centuries later.
Colonel Farquhar found that not one of the
people of the settlement dared ascend Fort
Canning Hill, the "forbidden hill" that was
haunted by the ghosts of long-forgotten kings
and queens. The alien Chinese who now
inhabit the town believe to this day that — for
some reason unknown to them — a curse laid
on the island in times long past makes it
impossible to grow rice on it, rice being the
staple food of the Malays. .All these legends
seem to suggest that the fate of the ancient
city must have been one of appalling horror.
Many Malay towns have at different times
been captured, many were doubtless captured
by the Javanese in that very war of A.D. 1377,
but in no other case has the fall of a city left
such awful memories as to cause men four
Centuries later to refuse to face the angry
spectres that were believed to haunt so cruelly
stricken a site.

The fall of Singapore led to the rise of
Malacca. A number of fugitives, headed (if the
"Annals" are to be believed) by their king
himself, established themselves at the mouth
of the Malacca river, and founded a city that
was destined to play a much greater part in
history than the old unhappy settlement of
Singapore itself. The "Annals," however, are
not a safe guide. Although it is indeed prob-
able that a party of refugees did do something
to found the town of Malacca, it is extremely
doubtful whether they were headed by the
fugitive " Iskandar Shah." Be the facts as
they may, the new town did not delay its rise
very long. In A.D. 1403, as Chinese records
tell us, the ruler or "Paramisura" of Malacca

D * *

82

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

sent envoys to China ; in a.d. 1405 he was
recognised as King and received a seal, a suit
of silk clothes, and a 5'ello\v umbrella from the
Emperor ; in a.d. 141 i he travelled himself to

gave us a real key to the chronology of the
period. From these records it is quite clear
that Singapore fell in a.d. 1377, and not in
A.D. 1252, as the " Malay Annals " would

to be identical with Xaquendarsa, and to have
come to the throne in a.d. 1414, it will be fairly
obvious that the Malay version allows too
many generations between him and Mudzafar

BUINS OF THE BANGKOK BLOCKHOUSE.

China and was most hospitably entertained.
In the year 1414 the son of this Paramisura
came to China to report his father's death, and
to apply for recognition as his father's successor.
This son's name is given in Chinese records as
Mu-Kan-Sa-U-Tir-Sha. He died about the year
1424, and was succeeded by his son, who is
described in Chinese as Sri Mahala.

At this point it is advisable to say something
about Malay chronology. The dates given in
Sir Frank Swettenham's " British Malaya,"
in the " Colonial Office List," in Valentyn's
" History of Malacca," and in many other
works, are all obtained from the " Malay
Annals " by the simple process of adding to-
gether the reputed lengths of the reigns of the
various kings. Such a system is usually unreli-
able. In the case of the " Malay Annals " the
unreliability of the method can be proved by
taking the history of ministers who served
under several kings, and must have attained to
impossible ages if the reign lengths are really
accurate. The point was brought out clearly
for the first time by Mr. C. O. Blagden in a
paper read before an Oriental Congress in
Paris. Mr. Blagden began by showing that
the Malay dates were inaccurate, and then
went on to prove that the Chinese records,
though meagre and unreliable in many details.

suggest. From the same source it may be
shown that the various kings of Malacca
reigned between the year 1400 and the year
1511. But we are not in a position to prove
conclusively who all these kings were. The
royal names, as given to us by different authori-
ties, are here shown in parallel columns :

Shah, who seems to have been reigning in
A.D. 1445.

It is quite impossible to reconcile the lists ;
but some facts may be inferred from what we
know for certain. A Chinese work, the " Ying
Yai Sheng Lan," dated a.d. 1416, speaks of the
Malacca Malays as devoted Mahomedans, so

Chinese Records.
Palisura (1403-14)
Mukansautirsha (1414-24)
Sri Mahala (1424)
Sri Mahala (1433)

Sri Pamisiwartiupasha (1445)

Sultan Wutafunasha (1456)
Sultan 'Wangsusha (1459)
Mahamusa (undated)
Sultan Mamat (" who fled
from the Franks")

Albuquerque' s List.
Paramisura
Xaquendarsa

Modafaixa

Marsusa

Alaodin

Mahamat

The great names of Malacca history are
common to all three lists, but the minor names
differ considerably. Those in the " Malay
Annals " would naturally have been considered
the most reliable, were it not that Mahomedan
names like Iskandar Shah occurring before the
Mahomedan period suggest the certainty of
serious error. If also we take Iskandar Shah

Malay Annals.

Iskandar Shah
Raja B^sar Muda
Raja Tfngah
Muhammad Shah
Abu Shahid
Mudzafar Shah
Mansur Shah
Alaedin Riayat Shah

Mahmud Shah

that it would seem that the conversion to Islam
took place as early as the reign of the Para-
misura, and not in the time of his grandson or
great-grandson, Muhammad Shah. But the
explanation that seems to clear up the difficul-
ties most readily is the probability that the
author of the pedigree in the " Malay Annals "
confused the two Princes who bore the name

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

83

of Raja Kfchil Besar, and also confused Sultan
Ahmad with Sultan Muhammad. If the title
Muhammad Shah and the conversion to Islam

AN ACHINBSE.

are ascribed to the first Rajah Kechil Besar
instead of to the second, the difficulty of
explaining the Mahomedan names of Iskandar
Shah and Ahmad Shah disappears at once, and
the pedigree is shortened to a reasonable
length. The amended version would read as
follows :

Kaja Kechil Besar

(Paramisura, Sultan Muhammad Shah)

Iskandar Shah

Raja Besar Muda

(Ahmad Shah)

Raja Kasim

(Mudzafar Shah)

Raja Abdullah

(Mansur Shah)

Raja Husain

(Alaedin Riayat Shah I.)

Raja Mahmud
(Sultan Mahmud Shah).

We can now pass to the reigns of these
different kings.

The Chinese account of Malacca, written in
A.D. 1416, gives us a very convincing picture of
the settlement. It tells us that the inhabitants
paid very little attention to agriculture, that

they were good fishermen, that they used dug-
outs, that they possessed a currency of block
tin, that they lived in very simple huts raised
some four feet above the ground, that they
traded in resins, tin, and jungle produce, that
they made very good mats, and that " their
language, their books, and their marriage
ceremonies are nearly the same as those of
Java." The town of Malacca was surrounded
by a wall with four gates, and within this
fortified area there was a second wall or
stockade surrounding a store for money and
provisions.

This description bears out Albuquerque's
statement that the town was created by the
fusion of fugitives from Singapore with a local
population of " Cellates " or Orang Laut, The
men from Singapore brought their old Indo-
Javanese civilisation, the language, the books,
and the marriage ceremonies that were so
closely akin to those of Java ; the Orang Laut
were simply fishermen, living by the sea and
using the rude dug-outs that impressed the
Chinese historian. But there was a third
element. The Chinese account tells us that
the tin industry, both in trade and actual
mining, was important. As this industry
would be quite unknown to the Orang Laut
and could hardly have been introduced from
Singapore, we are left to infer that traders in
tin had visited the country long before the
advent of the Malays, and had taught the
aborigines the value of the metal and the
proper means of procuring it. These early
traders were, in all probability, the Cambodian
colonists whose homes in the north had just
been conquered by the Siamese, but who — up
to the fourteenth century — appear to have
exercised some sort of dominion over the
southern half of the peninsula.

According to both Chinese and Portuguese
records the first ruler of Malacca was a certain
" Palisura " or "Paramisura"; but, unfortu-
nately, this word only means king, and conse-
quently gives us no clue either to the Hindu
or to the Mahomedan name of the prince in
question. It would seem waste of time to
discuss points relating to mere names were
it not that these issues help us to unravel the
complex chronology of the period. Evei"y
king — at this time of conversion — must have
had a Hindu title before taking an Arabic name,
so that serious errors may have been imported
into genealogies by kings being counted twice
over. Omitting the mythical elements, let us
collate the first names of the four lists that we
possess :

Malay Annals.

(1) Raja Kechil Bgsar,
Paduka Sri Pekerma Wiraja.

(2) Raja Muda,

Sri Rana Wikrama.

(3) Paduka Sri Maharaja.

Bustanu's salatin.

(1) Raja Kechil Besar,
Paduka Sri Pekerma Diraja.

(2) Sri Rana Adikerma,
Sultan Iskandar Shah.

(3) Raja Besar Muda,
Sultan Ahmad Shah.

Chiiicsv.
(i) Palisura.

(2) Mukansautirsha.

(3) Sri Mahala.

Portuguese.
(i) Paramisura.
(2) Xaquendarsa.

The only point that we have to suggest is
that these lists refer to the same men in the
same order. If this is admitted, there is no
difficulty in giving the pedigree of the Kings of
Malacca ; but the acceptance of this view
disposes at once of the theory that the line of
the Malacca Kings covers the earlier dynasty of
Singapore. The truth seems to be that the
author of the " Malay Annals " had only the
Malacca pedigree to work upon, but by attach-
ing Singapore legends to the names of Malacca
Kings he represented the genealogy as one

AN EXECUTION KRIS.

which descended from the mythical Sang
Sapurba of Palembang through the Kings of
Singapore (whose very names he did not

84

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

know), down to the family with which he was
really acquainted.

As Malay tradition seems to Insist that the
first Mahomedan sovereign took the name

stones, and with horses and saddles. His wife
got a cap and dresses.

" At the moment of starting he was enter-
tained by the Emperor, and again got a girdle

JAVANESE AND MALAY CLOTH COMPARED.

of Muhammad Shah, and as the Paramisura
of Albuquerque was undoubtedly the first
Mahomedan sovereign, we are justified in
believing that the King Paduka Sri Pgkerma
Diraja took the name Sultan Muhammad Shah
on his conversion. He ascended the throne
before a.d. 1403, but was first recognised
by the Chinese Emperor in a.d. 1405. He
visited China in a.d, 1411. The following is
the account given of this visit in the records of
the Ming dynasty :

"In 1411 the King came with his wife, son,
and ministers — 540 persons in all. On his
arrival the Emperor sent officers to receive
him. He was lodged in the building of the
Board of Rites, and was received in audience
by, the Emperor, who entertained him in
person, whilst his wife and the others were
entertained in another place. Every day
bullocks, goats, and wine were sent him from
the imperial buttery. The Emperor gave the
King two suits of clothes embroidered with
golden dragons and one suit with unicorns ;
furthermore, gold and silver articles, curtains,
coverlets, mattresses — everything complete.
His wife and his suite also got presents.

" When they were going away the King was
presented with a girdle adorned with precious

with precious stones, saddled horses, 100 ounces
of gold, 40,000 dollars (kwan) in paper money,
2,600 strings of cash, 300 pieces of silk gauze,
1,000 pieces of plain silk, and two pieces of silk
with golden flowers."

It is not surprising that kings were willing to
" pay tribute " to China.

The policy of Muhammad Shah seems to
have been to ally himself with the Mahomedan
States and with the Chinese, and to resist the
Siamese, who were at that time laying claim to
the southern part of the peninsula. As the
Siamese had conquered the Cambodian princi-
palities that had sent mining colonies to the
Southern States, the King of Siam had a certain
claim to consider himself the suzerain of
Malacca. But the claim was a very shadowy
one. The fall of the Cambodian kingdoms in
the north seems to have killed the Cambodian
colonies in the south. The Siamese themselves
had never exercised any authority over Malacca.
The very title assumed by the Siamese King —
" Ruler of Singapore, Malacca, and Malayu " —
shows how very little he knew about the
countries that he claimed to own. Nevertheless
Siam was a powerful State, and its fleets and
armies were a constant menace to the prosperity
of the growing settlement of Malacca.

The Paramisura Muhammad Shah died about
A.D. 1414. He was succeeded by his son, Sri
Rakna Adikerma, who took the title of Sultan
Iskandar Shah— the Xaquendarsa of the Portu-
guese and the Mukansutirsha of the Chinese
records. This prince, who reigned ten years,
paid two visits to China during his reign, one
visit in A.D. 1414, and the other in a.d. 1419.
He pursued his father's defensive policy of
alliances against the Siamese.

Sultan Iskandar Shah died in a.d. 1424. He
was succeeded by his son, Raja Besar Muda,
who bore the Hindu title of Paduka Sri Maha-
raja, and assumed the Mahomedan name of
Sultan Ahmad Shah. This ruler is not men-
tioned by the Portuguese, but he appears in

A ^GOLDEN KRIS.

Chinese records as Sri Mahala. He seems to
appear twice — perhaps three times — in the
" Malay Annals ": first as Paduka Sri Maharaja,
son of Sri Rakna Adikerma (Iskandar Shah's

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

85

Hindu title), and secondly as Raja Besar Muda,
son of Iskandar Shah. He is also confused
with Muhammad Shah, whose place he ought
to be given in the pedigree. It is therefore
dilMcult to say whether he or the first King
of Malacca ought to be credited with the
numerous rules and regulations drawn up for
the guidance of Malay courtiers, and given at
great length in the " Malay Annals " as the
work of " Muhammad Shah." In any case,
from this time forward the use of yellow was
confined to men of royal birth, the most rigid
etiquette was enforced at all court ceremonies,
the relative precedence of officers was fixed,
and other rules were made regarding the
proper attire and privileges of courtiers. The
author of the " Malay Annals " discusses all
these points at great length, but European
students are not likely to take much interest
in them. Happy is the country that has no
more serious troubles than disputes about
etiquette ! The first three Sultans of Malacca
must have governed well to bring about such a
result as this.

Sultan Ahmad Shah (Paduka Sri Maharaja)
died about the year 1444.. His death was
followed by a sort of interregnum, during
which the reins of power were nominally held
by his son. Raja Ibrahim, or Raja Itam, after-
wards known as Abu Shahid, because of his
unhappy death. This interregnum ended in a
sudden revolution, in which Raja Ibrahim lost
his life, and Raja Kasim, his brother, came to
the throne under the name of Sultan Mudzafar
Shah, the Modafaixa of the Portuguese and the
Sultan Wu-ta-funa-sha of Chinese records.
The new ruler began his reign in the usual
manner by sending envoys to China, but he
did not go himself to pay his respects to the
Emperor. He had to wage war against the
Siamese, who seem at last to have made some
sort of effort to enforce their claim to suzerainty
over the south of the peninsula. Malay records
are not very trustworthy, and we need not
believe all that they tell us about victories over
the Siamese ; but we can see from the change
in the policy of the State of Malacca that it
must have been successful in its campaigns
against its northern foe, since the Malays,
suddenly becoming aggressive, carried the
war into the enemy's country. From this
time onwards the town of Malacca becomes
a capital instead of an entire State.

Mudzafar Shah died about the year 1459 a.d.
According to Portuguese authorities he con-
quered Pahang, Kampar, and Indragiri ; but,
if the "Malay Annals" are to be believed, the
honour of these conquests rests with his son
and successor, Mansur Shah. Sultan Mansur
Shah, we are told, began his reign by sending
an expedition to attack Pahang. After giving
a good descriptive account of this country, with
its broad and shallow river, its splendid sandy
beaches, its alluvial gold workings, and its huge
wild cattle, the " Malay Annals" go on to say
that the ruler of Pahang was a certain Maha-
raja Dewa Sura, a relative of the King of Siam.
Chinese records also say that the country was
ruled by princes who bore Sanskrit titles, and
who must have been either Buddhist or Hindu
by religion ; but they add that the people were
in the habit — otherwise unknown in Malaya —
of offering up human sacrifices to their idols

of fragrant wood. Their language also does
not seem to have been Malayan. Pahang was
conquered after very little resistance, and its
prince, Maharaja Dewa Sura, was brought
captive to Malacca. Of the expeditions against
Kampar and Indragiri we know nothing except
that they were successful.

court, and to his being sent to rule over
Pahang alone, under the title of Sultan Mu-
hammad Shah. By a Javanese wife the Sultan
had one son, Radin Geglang, who succeeded
his stepbrother as heir to the throne, and was
afterwards killed while trying to stop a man
who ran amuck. By a daughter of his chief

MALAY MATTING.

Sultan Mansur Shah married five wives. By
a daughter of the conquered Maharaja Dewa
Sura he had two sons, one of whom he desig-
nated as heir to the throne ; but a murder
committed by the prince in a moment of
passion led to his being banished from the

minister, the Bendahara, the SuUan left a son,
Raja Husain, who ultimately succeeded him.
By a Chinese wife the SuUan left descendants
who established themselves as independent
princes at Jeram, in Selangor. By his fifth
wife, the daughter of a chief (Sri Xara Diraja),

86

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

the Sultan only had two daughters. The fol-
lowing table shows how the kingdom of
Malacca was divided up ;

severe conflict, in which most of his relatives
were slain. But that is not the account given
us in the " Malay Anoalii." The proud chief is

I

Raja Ahmad

(Sultan Muhammad Shah

of Pahang)

Raja Kasim
(Sultan Madzafar Shah)

I

Raja Abdullah

(Sultan Mansur Shah)

I

Paduka Mimat
(whose family ruled
in Jeram)

Raja Husain

(Sultan Alaedin Riayat Shah I.

of Malacca)

Raja Menawar

(Sultan Menawar Shah of

Kampar)

I

Raja Muhammad

(Sultan Mahmud Shah of

Malacca)

The policy of war and conquest initiated by
Mudzafar Shah and Mansur Shah was a fatal
one to a trading port like Malacca. It turned
the Malays into a sort of military aristocracy,
living on the trade of the foreign settlers in
their city. Trade is not, however, killed in a
day. The foreign merchants ffom India and
China, though they continued to frequent the
harbour of Malacca, began to look upon the
Sultan and his people as a mere burden on
the town — as indeed they were. The Sultan
needed money for his pleasures, his followers,
and his wars ; he increased his exactions from
year to year. But for the coming of the Portu-
guese, the fate of Malacca would ultimately
have been the same as that of Pasai, Samudra,
Perlak, and the other trading ports that enjoyed
at various times a temporary spell of prosperity
as emporia in the Eastern seas. Even as it
was, Albuquerque found the foreign settlers
in the citj' perfectly willing to rise in revolt
against their Malay masters.

Mansur Shah was succeeded by his son, Raja
Husain, who took the name of Alaedin Riayat
Shah. This Prince is said by the Portuguese
to have been poisoned at the instigation of the
rulers of Pahang and Indragiri. He was suc-
ceeded by his son, Sultan Mahmud Shah, the
last of the Kings of Malacca. Sultan Mahmud
Shah seems to have been a weak ruler, who
gave himself up to his pleasures, and ultimately
delegated all his powers to his son, the Prince
Alaedin, whom he raised to sovereign rank
under the name of Ahmad Shah. The most
important event in his reign — apart from the
Portuguese conquest — was the mysterious revo-
lution of A.D. 1510, in which the most powerful
chief in Malacca, the Bendahara Sri Maharaja,
lost his hfe. This event is mentioned by Albu-
querque, and is described with great vividness
by the author of the " Malay Annals," who,
being a member of the Bendahara's family,
was extremely anxious to represent his great
ancestor's case in the best possible light.
According to his story, one of the great
ministers of state was induced, by a very
heavy bribe, to bring a false charge of treason
against the Bendahara —"for there is truth in
the saying, ' Gold, thou art not God, yet art
thou the almighty ' " — and the Sultan was
tempted by an illicit passion for the Benda-
hara's daughter into consenting to his min-
ister's death — " Love knows no limitation and
passion no consideration." It is probable that
the great minister was only overthrown after a

said to have consented to die rather than lift a
finger in opposition to the King : " It is the
glory of the Malay that he is ever faithful to
his ruler." The Sultan's messenger approached
and presented him with a silver platter, on
which rested the sword of execution. " God
calls you to His presence," said the messenger.
" I bow to the Divine will," said the Bendahara.
Such was said to have been his end, but there
is a curious epilogue to this tale of loyalty. In
A.D. 1699 the last Prince of the royal line of
Malacca was slain by his Bendahara, the lineal
representative of the murdered minister of
A.D. 1510, and of his successor and champion
thecourtly author of the " Malay Annals." It is
therefore quite possible that the Bendahara of
A.D. 1510 was only conspiring to do what the
Bendahara of a.d. 1699 eventually succeeded in
doing.

CHAPTER V.

The Portuguese Ascendancy.

The famous expedition of Vasco da Gama,
the first European navigator to appear in the
Eastern seas, took place in 1498. Within ten
years Da Gama had been followed to the East
by many other famous adventurers — Francisco
de Albuquerque, Alfonso de Albuquerque, Fran-
cisco de Almeida, Tristano d'Acunha, Jorge de
Mello, and Jorge de Aguyar. In 1508 the whole
of the Portuguese " empire " in the East was
divided into two viceroyalties, one stretching
from Mozambique to Diu in India, the other
from Diu to Cape Comorin. Francisco de
Almeida was appointed Viceroy of Africa,
Arabia, and Persia ; Alfonso de Albuquerque
was Viceroy of India. Two other Admirals
were sent out in that year to carve out vice-
royalties for themselves. Of these two, one
— Diego Lopez de Sequeira — was destined for
Malaya. He left the Tagus with four ships
on April 5, 1508, sailed to Cochin (the head-
quarters of the Indian Viceroy), borrowed a
ship from the Portuguese fleet at that port,
and finally, in August, 1509, sailed to Malacca.
As soon as Sequeira cast anchor in the
harbour a boat put off from the shore to ask
him, in the name of the Bendahara, who he
was and why he came. The Portuguese
Admiral answered that he was an envoy from
the King of Portugal with gifts for the Sultan
of Malacca. Messages then seem to have been
interchanged for several days, and ultimately

a Portuguese of good position, one Teixeira,
was sent ashore and conducted to the palace
on an elephant. He handed the Sultan an
Arabic letter signed by Emmahuel, King of
Portugal ; he also gave the Malay ruler some
presents. This interview was followed by the
usual interchange of compliments and friendly
assurances ; permission to trade was given,
and, finally, Teixeira was conducted in honour
back to his ship.

But in the town of Malacca all was excite-
ment. The wealthy Indian merchants could
hardly have viewed with equanimity the
presence of strangers who threatened them
with the loss of their trade. The suspicious
rulers of the city feared the powerful fleet of
Sequeira. The Bendahara wished to attack
the Portuguese at once ; the Laksamana and
the Temenggong hesitated. The Sultan in-
vited the strangers to a feast — perhaps with
the intention of murdering them ; Sequeira,
with d. rudeness that may have been wise,
refused the dangerous invitation. Meanwhile
the Bendahara's party had begun to collect a
small flotilla behind Cape Rachado so as to be
ready for all emergencies. The position was
one of great tension. The Portuguese who
landed at Malacca do not seem to have been
molested, but they could hardly have failed to
notice the nervous hostility of the populace.
The " Malay Annals " — written a century later
— contain echoes of this old feeling of fear and
dislike of the strangers, the popular wonder at
these " white-skinned Bengalis," the astonish-
ment at the blunt bullet that pierced so sharply,
the horror at the blunders in etiquette com-
mitted by the well-meaning Portuguese. " Let
them alone, they know no manners," said the
Sultan, when his followers wished to cut down
a Portuguese who had laid hands on the sacred
person of the King in placing a collar round
his neck. At such a time very little provoca-
tion would have started a conflict ; a mis-
understanding probably brought it about.
Suspecting the crews of the Malay boats of
wishing to board the Portuguese vessels, a
sentry gave an alarm. A panic at once
arose ; the Malays on deck sprang overboard ;
the Portuguese fired their guns. Sequeira
avoided any further action in the hope of
saving those of his men who were on shore
at the time, but the sudden appearance of the
Malay flotilla from behind Cape Rachado
forced his hand. The Portuguese sailed out
to meet this new enemy and so lost the chance
of rescuing the stragglers. When they re-
turned it was too late. The city was now
openly hostile ; the Europeans on shore had
been taken ; the fleet was not strong enough
to take the town unaided. After wasting some
days in useless negotiations, Sequeira had to
sail away. His expedition had been an utter
failure. After plundering a few native ships
he sent two of his own fleet to Cochin, and
returned to Portugal without making any
attempt to redeem his mistakes.

King Emmanuel of Portugal was not the
man to submit tamely to a disaster of this
sort. Fitting out three more ships under
Diego Mendez de Vasconcellos, he sent them
—in March, 1510— to organise a fresh attack
on Malacca. This fleet was diverted by the
Viceroy de Albuquerque to assist him in his

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI.AYA

87

Indian wars; but in May, ijii, the great
Viceroy himself set out to attack Malacca,
taking 19 ships, 800 European troops, and 600
Malabar sepoys. He first sailed to Pedir, in
Sumatra. There he found a Portuguese named
Viegas, one of Sequeira's men, who had

that was bearing the news of his approach to
Malacca. He caught this vessel and slew its
captain. Still sailing on, he captured a large
Indian trading ship, from which he learnt
that the rest of Sequeira's men were still alive
and in bondage to the Malays, the leading man

escaped from captivity in Malacca and who
reported that there were other Portuguese
fugitives at Pasai. The Viceroy sailed to
Pasai and picked them up. He was well
received by the people of Pasai, but he sailed
on at once in order to overtake a native ship

among them being one Ruy d'Aranjo, a per-
sonal friend of the Viceroy. On July T,
1511, Albuquerque and his fleet of nineteen
ships sailed into the roadstead at Malacca
with trumpets sounding, banners waving,
guns firing, and with every demonstration

that might be expected to overawe the junks
in the harbour and the warriors in the town.
At the sight of the powerful Portuguese fleet
the native vessels in the roadstead attempted
to flee, but the Viceroy, who feared that any
precipitate action on his part might lead to the
murder of his fellow-countrymen in the town,
ordered the ships to stay where they vi'ere, and
assured them that he had no piratical inten-
tions. The captains of three large Chinese
junks in the harbour then visited the Por-
tuguese Admiral and offered to assist him in
attacking the town ; they, too, had grievances
against the port authorities. The captain of a
Gujerat trading ship also came with a similar
tale. Early on the following day there came
envoys from the Sultan to say that the Malay
ruler had always been friendly to the King of
Portugal, and that his wicked Bendahara — who
had recently been put to death — was entirely
responsible for the attack on Sequeira. Albu-
querque made every effort to impress the
envoys with a sense of his power, but he
replied with the simple answer that no
arrangement was possible until the prisoners
had been released. The prisoners were,
indeed, the key of the situation. The Admiral
was sure (hat any attack on the town would
be the signal for them to be massacred ; the
Sultan vaguely felt that to give them up would
be to surrender a powerful weapon of defence.
So the days passed ; the Malays were arming,
the Portuguese were examining the roadstead
with a view to devising a good plan of attack,
but neither side did any overt act of hostility.
At the Malacca Court itself the usual divided
counsels prevailed, the war party being led by
the Sultan's eldest son and by the Sultan's son-
in-law, the Prince of Pahang. After seven
days of futile negotiations a man from the
town slipped on board the Admiral's ship with
a letter from Ruy d'Aranjo, the most important
of the prisoners, strongly advising Albuquerque
to abandon all idea of rescuing them and to
begin the attack without further delay. The
Viceroy was not prepared to take advantage
of this heroic offer of self-sacrifice on the
prisoners' part, but he felt that his present
policy could lead to nothing. By way of a
demonstration, he burnt some of the Malay
shipping in the harbour and bombarded a
few of the finer residences on the seaside.
The demonstration produced an unexpected
result : Ruy d'Aranjo was at once released.
He brought with him the news that many of
the townspeople were hostile to the Sultan
and would be prepared to turn against the
Malays should the opportunity present itself.
This information probably settled the fate of
the city.

More negotiations followed. Albuquerque
asked for permission to build a fortified factory
in the town of Malacca, so that Portuguese
merchants might be able to trade there in
peace and safety ; he also asked for the return
of the booty taken from Sequeira, and for an
indemnity of 300,000 cruzados (about ;£33,50o).
He found that the Sultan was not indisposed
to make concessions, but that the younger
chiefs were clamorous for war. Ultimately,
as often happens in Malay councils, the Sultan
decided to stand aside and to let the opposing
parties — the Portuguese and the Princes —

88

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

fight it out. He himself stood on the defensive
and refused either to malce concessions or to
lead an attack. As soon as tliis decision was
arrived at, the Prince Alaedin and the Sultan
of Pahang set about the defence of the town,
while the Javanese communities seem to have
assured the Admirals that the coming conflict
was no concern of theirs, and that they were, if
anything, well disposed to the Portuguese.
In order to understand the plan of attack, it

MALAY SEAL.

is necessary to appreciate the difference between
the Malacca of 1511 and the Malacca of the
present time. It is often supposed that the
harbour has silted up and that the conditions
cannot be reproduced, but it should be remem-
bered (hat the Portuguese ships were small
vessels of light draught that could lie much
closer to the shore than the deep-draughted
steamers of to-day. The great change that has
come over the harbour is due to the shifting of
the river channel after it enters the sea. The
old maps of Malacca show that the Malacca
river on reaching its mouth turned sharply to
the right, and had scooped out a comparatively
deep channel very close to the northern shore,
where the houses — then as now — were thickly
clustered. This channel was the old harbour
of Malacca ; it enabled light-draught ships to
lie very close to the land, and it explains how
the Portuguese with their guns of little range
could succeed in bombarding the houses on
the shore. Landing was, however, another
matter. The deep mud-banks made it ex-
tremely difficult to land under cover of the
guns of the fleet ; the true landing-place,
then as now, lay just inside the river itself.
Above the landing-place, then as now,
there was a bridge, but the old Malay bridge
was a little further up the river than the
present structure. This bridge, since it com-
manded the landing-place and maintained
communications between the two sections of
the town, was the key of the whole situation.
Both sides realised how matters stood. The
Malays strongly fortified the bridge, and
stationed upon it a force of picked men under
an Indian mercenary named Tuan Bandam.
The high ground immediately to the south of

the river — St. Paul's Hill, as it is now called —
was the true Malay citadel. It was covered
with the houses of the principal adherents of
the Sultan, and was the site of the Sultan's
palace itself. It protected the bridge, and
was garrisoned by the followers of the war
party, the Prince Alaedin and the Sultan of
Pahang. It was felt by all that the landing-
places and the bridge would be the centre of
the coming struggle.

Behind all this show of Malay strength there
was, however, very little true power. The
Malays themselves were nothing more than a
military garrison living on the resources of
an alien community. The trading town of
Malacca was divided up into quarters under
foreign headmen. The Javanese of Gersek
held Bandar Hilir to the south of the river ;
the Javanese and Sundanese from Japara and
Tuban held Kampong Upeh to the north of the
river. The Indian merchants also possessed
a quarter of their own. These alien merchants
did not love the Malays. All they wanted was
to trade in peace ; at the first sign of a struggle
they began to remove their goods to places of
safety, and had to be forcibly prevented from
fleeing inland. The Sultan of Pahang with
his fire-eating followers was not a very reliable
ally ; he had no real interest in the war. The
conflict ultimately resolved itself into a trial of
strength between the personal retainers of the
Sultan and the 1,400 soldiers of Albuquerque,
but the advantage of position was all on the
side of the Malays.

The Viceroy's preparations for attack lasted
several days. He spent his time in tampering
with the loyalty of the Javanese and other
foreign communities, and in constructing a
floating battery of very light draught to enter
the river and bombard the bridge. This
battery was not altogether a success. It
grounded at the very mouth of the river, and
was exposed for nine days and nights to inces-

and forced the floating battery up to a more
commanding position, whence it made short
work of the bridge itself. The battery had now
done its work and had made communication
between the two banks of the river less ready
than it had previously been, but the fight was

MALAY TIN CURRENCY ("WITH
CASTING MOULD).

sant attacks from both b.mks. Its commander,
Antonio d'Abreu, had his teeth shot away at
the very first attack, but he stuck doggedly to
his post and saved the battery from capture.
At last Albuquerque landed a strong force,
obtained temporary possession of both banks,

CHINESE "CASH AND MALAY COINS.

(The "tree " shows how Malay tin coins are cast.
The hole in the cash is square.)

by no means over. The Prince Alaedin and his
men furiously attacked the landing party and
were only beaten off after the Portuguese had
lost 80 men in killed and wounded. The Viceroy
tried to follow up his success by attacking the
mosques and palace on St. Paul's Hill. Be-
wildered in a maze of buildings, the Portuguese
again suffered heavy loss, and had to beat a
confused retreat to their landing-place. There
they entrenched themselves and were able to
hold their own. Their only substantial success
had been the capture of the outworks built by
the Malays to protect the landing-places ; the
fortifications of the bridge itself were still un-
captured.

The next attack took place on St. James's
Day, July 24, 15:1. The Viceroy landed bodies
of men on both banks of the river and advanced
again upon the bridge. The Portuguese on the
south bank were furiously attacked by a Malay
force of about seven hundred men, headed by the
Sultan in person. The battle appears to have
been a very terrible one, and to have raged
principally about the south end of the bridge,
where the high ground of the hill approaches
nearest to the river. From their vantage
ground on the slopes, and under cover of their
buildings, the Malays poured an incessant stream
of poisoned darts upon the Portuguese, who
replied by burning the houses and endeavouring
to drive the Malays out of their cover. En-
cumbered with armour and weapons, the Portu-
guese found that the heat of the fire was more

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

89

than they could resist. To add to their troubles,
the Lalcsamana Hang Tuah brought down a
flotilla of boats and fireships that harassed the
flanks and threatened the communications of
the Viceroy's force^. Albuquerque decided to
retreat. He retireid to his ships, taking with
him 70 of his men who had been struck
down with poisoned darts ; of these 70 men
twelve died, and the rest suffered from con-
stantly recurring pain for a long period of
time. The Malay losses will never be known.
The Sultan of Pahang, whose houses had been
burnt and whose property had been plundered,
left his father-in-law in the lurch and returned
to his own country. The iire-eating youths of
Malacca, who had egged on their .Sultan to
war, had now had enough of the fighting. The
foreign merchants had learnt that their Malay
masters were not necessarily omnipotent.
Although the Viceroy had been consistently
repulsed, his very pertinacity had practically
secured the victory. When he landed again
on the following day all organised resistance
was over. The foreign subjects of the Sultan
refused to expose their lives in a hopeless cause
that was not their own. The Sultan's retainers
found that the profit of war was not worth its
risks. The Sultan himself fled. A few untam-
able spirits like the Laksamana continued to
carry on a guerilla warfare against the Portu-
guese, but with no real hope of success. The
foreigners all submitted — first the Peguans, then
the various sections of the Javanese community ;
they even joined the Portuguese Under the
brothers De Andrade in an expedition to destroy
the stockades of the Prince Alaedin. After this
the Malay Prince saw the futility of further
resistance ; he followed his father in his flight
to the interior. A few scattered bands of out-
laws represented all that was left of the famous
Malay kingdom of Malacca.

The spoils taken by the Portuguese are not
exactly known. According to some authorities,
the value of the plunder was SOi°oo cruzados,
or about ;^6,ooo ; others say that this only
represented the King's share of the spoil. It
was also said that several thousand cannon —
either 3,000 or 8,000 — were captured. This ex-
pression may refer to mere firearms, but it
must be enormously exaggerated even with
this limitation. The Malay forces were very
small, and they inflicted most damage with
poisoned darts. Moreover, we are specially
told that Albuquerque sent home as his only
important trophies one or two cannon of Indian
make and some Chinese images of lions. Had
it not been for the foreign elements in the
population of the town of Malacca, the capture
of the city would have been an act of useless
folly. As it was, the victory was a valuable
one. It substituted a Portuguese for a Malay
ruling class without destroying the trade-
tradition of the place. It gave the Portuguese
a- naval base, a trading centre, and a citadel
that they could easily hold against any attacks
that the Malays might organise.

The Viceroy could not afford to garrison
Malacca with the force that had sufficed to
take it. He had captured it with the whole
of the available forces of Portuguese India —
ig ships, 800 European soldiers, and 600 sepoys.
If anything was needed to show the unreality
of the wealth and power ascribed by some

imaginative writers to these old Malayan
"empires" or "kingdoms," it would be the
insignificance of the Portuguese garrisons
that held their own against all attacks and
even organised small punitive expeditions in
reply. The loss of ten or twelve Portuguese
was a disaster of the first magnitude to the
" captain " in charge of the town and fort of
Malacca. A small Portuguese reverse on the
Muar river — when the gallant Ruy d'Aranjo
was killed — enabled the Laksamana Hang
Tuah to entrench himself on the Malacca
river and to "besiege" the town. This
famous Malay chief, whose name still lives in
the memory of his countrymen, was a man of
extraordinary energy and resource. He fought
the Portuguese by sea, in the narrows of the
Singapore Straits ; he surprised them off Cape
Rachado ; he harassed the town of Malacca
from the upper reaches of its own river ; he
intrigued with the allies of the Portuguese ;
he even induced a Javanese fleet to threaten
Malacca. This indefatigable fighter died as he

PORTUGUESE TIN COINS OP
MALACCA.

had lived, desperately warring against the
enemies of his race. With his death, and with
the destruction in 1526 of the Sultan's new
stronghold on the island of Bintang, the Malay
power was utterly destroyed. From 1511 to
1605 the Portuguese were the real masters of
the Straits.

The history of Malacca from the date of
Sequeira's expedition (a.d. 1509) to the time
when it was captured by the Dutch (a.d. 1641)
reads like a romance. It is associated with
great names like those of Camoens and St.
Francis Xavier ; it is the story of desperate
sieges and of the most gallant feats of arms.
Tradition has it that once when the garrison
had fired away their last ounce of powder in
the course of a desperate battle against the
Achinese, the suspicious-seeming silence of
the grim fortress terrified the enemy into flight.
We are not, however, concerned with the
romance of its history so much as with its
pohtical aspect. There is something significant
in the very titles of the officials of Malacca.
The Portuguese Governor of Malacca was
its " captain," the heads of the native com-

munities were "captains" too. Indeed, Albu-
querque went so far as to appoint the Javanese
headman, Ultimuti Raja, his bendahara. The
high officials of the Dutch bore trading names
such as " first merchant " or " second mer-
chant " ; the civil servants of our own East
India Company were " writers." There is no
arrogance about any of these descriptions ;
they only showed what their bearers really
were. What, then, are we to make of titles
such as those of the " Viceroy of Africa,
Arabia, and Persia " and the " Viceroy of
India " ? They hardly represented realities ; did
they symbolise any national policy or ambition ?
The aim of all the European Powers in the
Far East — whether Portuguese or Dutch or
English — was to capture the rich trade of these
countries. Sequeira asked for permission to
trade ; Albuquerque asked for permission to
build a fortified factory at Malacca ; the East
India Companies of the Dutch and English were
merely trading concerns. Yet there was this
difference. The imperial idea — which, in the
case of the Dutch and English, took centuries
to develop — seems to have existed from the
very first in the minds of the Portuguese. It
was not the imperialism of the present clay ;
Albuquerque did not seek to administer, even
when he claimed suzerainty. He allowed his
Asiatic subjects a wide measure of self-govern-
ment under their own " captains " in the very
town of Malacca itself. Although he did not,
indeed, try to administer, he tried to dominate.
The Portuguese power would brook no rival.
The garrisons were small — they were not
sufficient to hold any tract of country — but the
striking force of the viceroyalty was sufficient
to destroy any trading port that refused to bow
to the wishes of the Portuguese or that set
itself up in irreconcilable hostility against them.
Again and again — at Kampar, in the island of
Bintang, and on the shores of the Johore river
— did the Portuguese expeditions harry the
fugitives of the old Malay kingdom and destroy
the chance of a native community rising to
menace their fortified base at Malacca. What
they did in these Straits they also did on the
shores of India and Africa. The titles of the
old Portuguese Viceroys were not misnomers,
though they did not bear the administrative
significance that we should now attach to
them. The Portuguese fleet did really domin-
ate the East. The weakness of this old Portu-
guese " empire" lay in the fact thatit could not
possibly survive the loss of sea-power. It
consisted — territoriallj' — of a few naval bases
that became a useless burden when the com-
mand of the sea passed into the hands of the
English and Dutch. The fall of Malacca may
be truly said to date from a.d. 1606, when the
Dutch Admiral Cornells Matelief gained a
decisive, victory over the Portuguese fleet in
the Straits of Malacca. From that time for-
ward the doom of the town was sealed. Trade
went with the command of the sea ; apart
from lis trade, Malacca had no sufficient
revenue and became a useless burden to the
Viceroys of Goa. Portuguese pride did indeed
induce the Viceroys at first to send expeditions
to the relief of their beleaguered countrvmen
in the famous fortress, but as siege succeeded
siege it became obvious that the fate of the city
was only a question of time. It fell in 1641.

90

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

After Sultan JIahmud had been driven out
of Malacca he fled to Batu Hampar, while his
son, the Prince Alaedin, built a stockade at
Pagoh. Pagoh was soon taken by the Portu-
guese. The Malay Princes then took refuge
for a time in Pahang, after which they estab-
lished themselves far up the Johore river, where
they were relatively safe from attack. Settle-
ments far up a river are, however, of very
little use either for trade or piracy, so — as
the Malays regained confidence — they moved
southwards and established themselves on the
island of Bintang, Sultan Mahmud at Tebing
Tinggi and the Prince Alaedin at Batu Pela-
bohan. This Prince Alaedin had been raised
to sovereign rank and bore the title of Sultan
Ahmad Shah, to the great confusion of historical
records, which confuse him both with his
father. Sultan Mahmud, and with his brother,
who afterwards bore the name of Sultan
Alaedin. In any case the Sultan Ahmad died
at Batu Pelabohan and was buried at Bukit
Batu in Bintang ; if Malay rumour is to be
believed, he was poisoned by his jealous
father. Sultan Mahmud then installed his
younger son as Raja Muda, but did not confer
on him 'the sovereign dignity borne by the
murdered Ahmad Shah. After this, the Sultan
moved his headquarters to Kopak. There
another son was born to him, this time by his
favourite wife. Tun Fatimah, the daughter of
the famous Bendahara who had so bitterly
opposed Sequeira. This child was given the
title of Raja Kechil Besar, and was afterwards
allowed (through his mother's influence) to
take precedence of his elder brother, the Raja
Muda, and to be raised to sovereign rank as the
Sultan Muda or Sultan Alaedin Riayat Shah II.
Meanwhile the Malay settlement at Kopak had
increased sufficiently in importance to attract
the notice of the Portuguese. In 1526 it was
surprised by the Viceroy Mascarenhas, who
utterly destroj'ed it. Sultan Mahmud, again a
fugitive, took refuge at Kampar in Sumatra.
By a high-handed act of policy the Portuguese
had just, abducted the ruler of Kampar and had
thereby incurred the deadly hostiUty of the
inhabitants of that Sumatran port. The aged
Sultan Mahmud was welcomed and was recog-
nised as sovereign in the absence of the local
chief. He died shortly afterwards, leaving the
throne to his son, Alaedin Riayat Shah II.
The new Sultan was not left in peace by the
Portuguese. Driven out of Kampar, he ulti-
mately settled at a place on the Johore river.
He died there and was succeeded by his son,
the Raja Muda Perdana, who took the title of
Sultan Mudzafar Shah 11. This Mudzafar
Shah established himself at Seluyut (Johore
Lama) but he had outlying stations on the
trade routes. At a later date these stations
were destined to become important.

The Sultans of Perak claim descent from a
" Sultan Mudzafar Shah," an elder son of the
Sultan Mahmud who was driven from Malacca
by the Portuguese. The present Sultan of
Perak has asserted that this '' Sultan Mudzafar
Shah" went to Perak because he had been
passed over for the succession by his younger
brother. If this tradition is correct, the
" Sultan Mudzafar Shah " of Perak would
not be the poisoned Alaedin (Sultan Ahmad
Shah), but the young Raja Muda, who was set

aside by his father in favour of the Raja Kechil
Besar, afterwards Alaedin Riayat Shah II.
All that we know about this member of the
royal line is that he married a daughter of
Tun Fatimah by her first husband. Tun Ali,
and that he had a son, Raja Mansur. This
accords with the Perak story that Sultan
Mudzafar Shah was succeeded by his son, a
Sultan Mansur Shah. The following table
shov/s the line of descent

in the sight of the Malays. From this time
onwards the Dutch came constantly to Johore.
Their factor, Jacob Buijsen, resided continu-
ously at his station and seems to have done
a good deal to turn an insignificant fishing
village into an important centre of trade and
political influence. In this work of develop-
ment he received every assistance from the
Sultan's brother, Raja Abdullah, who was
anxious to make a definite alliance with Holland

Sultan Mahmud Shah
(of Malacca and Johore)

Alaedin
(Sultan Ahmad Shah)

I

" Raja Muda "

[Sultan Mudzafar Shah I.

of Perak)

I

Raja Mansur

(Sultan Mansur Shah I.

of Perak)

Raja Kechil Besar
{Sultan Alaedin Riayat
Shah II. of Johore)

Raja Muda Perdana

{Sultan Mudzafar Shah II.

of Johore)

This pedigree would go to prove not only
that the Sultan of Perak represents the senior
line of the oldest Malay dynasty, but also that
he is directly descended from the famous line
of Bendaharas whose glories are the subject
of the "Sejarah Melayu."

Sultan Mudzafar Shah 11. seems to have
reigned in comparative peace at Johore. The
only incident of any importance recorded
about him was his secret marriage under
rather suspicious circumstances to a Pahang
lady, the divorced or abducted wife of one
Raja Omar of Pahang. Sultan Mudzafar Shah
did not live long. When he died the chiefs
placed his son, the boy Abdul Jalil, on the
throne. The new sovereign, Abdul Jalil Shah,
suffered great tribulations at the hands of the
Portuguese, who burnt Johore Lama and drove
him to the upper reaches of the river, where
no ships could follow him. He settled ulti-
mately at Batu Sawar, which he named Makam
Tauhid. He died at this place, leaving two
sons (Raja Mansur and Raja Abdullah) by his
principal wife, and three sons (Raja Hasan,
Raja Husain and Raja Mahmud) by secondary
wives. It is said that the last three became
rulers of Siak, Kelantan and Kampar respec-
tively. Raja Mansur succeeded to the throne
of Johore under the title of Alaedin Riayat
Shah III. It was in the reign of this Alaedin
Riayat Shah that the Dutch and English first
came to Johore.

CHAPTER VI.

The Dutch Ascexdaxcv.

About the end of a.d. 1602 a Dutch navi-
gator of the name of Jacob van Heemskerck
visited Johore and left a factor behind, after
satisfying himself that the factor's life was
not likely to be endangered by any peace
between the Malays and the Portuguese. By
doing this he attracted to Johore the unwelcome
attentions of the Governor of Malacca, who at
once sent a few small vessels to blockade the
river. However, in a.d. 1603 two Dutch ships
that came to visit the factor drove away the
Portuguese flotilla and obtained great honour

and to obtain some permanent protection
against Portuguese attack. A Malay envoy
was actually sent to Holland, but died on
the journey, and no treaty was made till
a.d. 1606, 'when Admiral Cornells Matelief
with a powerful fleet arrived in the Straits of
Malacca.

The Dutch account of this expedition tells us
that the old Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah had been
a great fighter and had waged a long war
against the Portuguese. At his death he left
four sons. The eldest, the " King Yang-di-
Pertuan " (Alaedin Riayat Shah III.) was in
the habit of getting up at noon and having a
meal, after which he drank himself drunk and
transacted no further business. His second son,
the King of Siak, was a man of weak character,
who rarely visited Johore. His third, Raja
Abdullah, is described as a man of about thirty-
five years of age, fairly intelligent, far-sighted,
quiet m disposition, and a great hand at driving
hard bargains. The fourth brother, Raja Laut,
is depicted as " the greatest drunkard, murderer,
and scoundrel of the whole family. . . All
the brothers drink except Raja Abdullah ; and
as the rulers are, so are the nobles in their
train." Such, then, were the men whom the
Admiral Cornells Matelief had come to succour.
But we must not condemn these men too
hastily. The Bendahara or prime minister of
these Princes was the author of the " Annals,"
our great source of information on Malay history.
The royal drunkard, Alaedin Riayat Shah, was
the man who ordered the "Annals "to be written.
The " great hand at driving hard bargains "—
Raja Abdullah — is the patron of the history :
"Sultan Abdullah Maayat Shah, the glory of
his land and of his time, the chief of the
assembly of true believers, the ornament of
the atrodes of the Faithful — may God enhance
his generosity and his dignities, and perpetuate
his just government over all his estates."
These men must have been something more
than mere drunkards ; the historian has reason
to be grateful to them.

On May 14, 1606, Admiral Matelief arrived
off the Johore river and received a friendly
letter of greeting from Raja Abdullah ; on May
17th he entertained the Prince on board his
iflagship. The interview must have been
amusing, for it is quite clear that the Dutch

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

91

had come to the Straits with the most ex-
aggerated ideas about the greatness of Johore.
On boarding the Dutch ship Raja Abdullah
greeted his host most cordially and presented
him with a "golden kris studded with stones
of little value." In welcoming the sailoi's to
Malay waters, the Raja prolonged the compli-
ments to such an extent that the impatient
Admiral tried to lead him up to business by
a pointed inquiry regarding the nature and
extent of the help that might be expected from
Johore if the Dutch attacked Malacca. In this
matter, however, the Prince was anxious not
to commit himself. He explained that he was
an orang miskin, a person of little wealth and
importance, subordinate in all things to the
will of his royal brother. " In short," says our
angry Dutch chronicler, " all the information
that we could obtain from this Prince was that
he was a very poor man indeed ; had he been
able to fight the Portuguese by himself, would
he have sent to Holland for assistance ? "
This was unanswerable. The Admiral gave
up all hope of obtaining any real armed assist-
ance from Johore.

Nevertheless a treaty was signed. It is the
first Dutch treaty with Johore and is dated
May 17, 1606. Its terms are interesting.

The new allies began by agreeing to capture
Malacca. After capturing it, they were to
divide up the spoil — the city was to go to the
Dutch and the adjoining territories to the
Malays, but the Dutch were to possess the
right to take timber from the nearest Malay
jungles for the needs of the tovi'n and its
shipping. The permission of the future Dutch
Governor of Malacca was to be obtained
before any European could be permitted to
land on Johore territory.

As this treaty seemed a little premature until
the capture of Malacca had been effected,
Admiral Matelief set out at once to carry out
that portion of the arrangement. He gained
a decisive victory over the Portuguese fleet
but failed to take the town, and ultimately gave
up the enterprise as impracticable. On Sep-
tember 23, 1606, he made an amended treaty
under which a small portion of Johore territory
was ceded to the Dutch as a trading station in
lieu of the town and fort of Malacca, the rest
of the treaty remaining the same as before.
After concluding this agreement he sailed
away, and only returned to the Malay Pen-
insula in October, 1607, when he visited the
factory at Palani. He then found that a com-
plete change had come over the position of
affairs at Johore. The Portuguese — having
lost the command of the sea — had reversed
their policy of unceasing hostility to native
powers, and were now prepared to make an
alliance with the Sultan. The Dutch factor
had fled to Java, and the Admiral summed up
the situation in a letter dated January 4, 1608 :
" The chief King drinks more than ever ; the
chiefs are on the side of the Portuguese ; Raja
Abdullah has no power." The Dutch East
India Company had invested 10,000 dollars at
Johore and 63,000 dollars at Patani.

Admiral Matelief could do very little. As
he had sent most of his ships home and was
expecting the arrival of a fleet under Admiral
van Caerden, he tried to induce Admiral van
Caerden to change his course and threaten

Johore, but he was too late, as the Admiral had
sailed already from Java on his way to the
Moluccas and was too far away to give any
assistance. Nothing could be done till the
autumn. In the end a Dutch fleet arrived
under Admiral Verhoeff to bring the SuKan
to reason. Sultan Alaedin Riayat Shah seems
to have defended himself by the very logical
argument that he wished to be at peace with
everybody and that Dutch friendship, to be of
value, should accord him permanent pro-
tection. This permanent protection was
promised him by a new treaty, under which
the Dutch agreed to build a fort at Johore and
to station two guardships there to defend the
place against Portuguese attack. Having
made this arrangement, the Admiral sailed
from Johore with a letter from the Sultan
begging for Dutch aid to prosecute a personal
quarrel between himself and the Raja of Patani.
In fact, nothing could have been more fatuous
than the policy of this Alaedin Riayat Shah.

Dutch residents in the factory. The Achinese
did not treat their prisoners very harshly.
The Sultan of Achin — the famous Iskandar
Muda or Mahkota Alam — gave his sister in
marriage to Raja Abdullah and even joined
Alaedin in the convivial bouts that were so
dear to the Johore Princes. A reconciliation
was effected. On August 25, 1614, Alaedin
Riayat Shah was back in his own capital, but
he does not seem to have learned much
wisdom from his stay in Achin. Accused of
lukewarmness in helping the Achinese in
their siege of Malacca, he brought upon him-
self for the second time the vengeance of the
great Mahkota Alam. Johore was again
attacked — this time by a force which an eye-
witness, Admiral Steven van der Haghen,
estimated at 300 ships and from 30,000 to 40,000
men. Johore was taken, but the Sultan him-
self escaped to Bintang. Bintang was next
attacked. The unfortunate Sultan received
some help from Malacca, but only just enough

MALAY CANNON.

Surrounded by powerful enemies, he was
content to think only of the pleasures and of
the passions of the moment, leaving all graver
matters to the care of his cautious brother.
Raja Abdullah.

In A.D. 1610 the marriage of the Sultan's
eldest son to his cousin, the daughter of the
Raja of Siak, led to a complete change in the
attitude of the fickle Alaedin Riayat Shah
towards Raja Abdullah and the Dutch. The
Raja of Siak, a friend of the Portuguese,
became the real power behind the throne of
Johore. Again, as in 1608, the Dutch might
well have written : " The King drinks more
than ever ; the chiefs are on the side of the
Portuguese ; the Raja Abdullah has no power."
But vengeance overtook the treacherous Ala-
edin from a most unexpected quarter. On
June 6, 1613, the Achinese, who were at war
with Malacca, suddenly made a raid on Johore,
captured the capital, and carried the Sultan off
into captivity along with his brother Abdullah,
the chief Malay Court dignitaries, and the

to seal his destruction. He was now unable
either to repel the attack of his enemies or
to clear himself of the charge of allying him-
self with the Portuguese infidel against whom
Mahkota Alam was waging religious war.
Alaedin Riayat Shah was taken prisoner and
died very shortly afterwards ; tradition has it
that he was put to death by his captors.

Incidentally it may be observed that the
"Malay Annals," though dated a.d. 1612, refer
to "the late Sultan Alaedin Riayat Shah, who
died in Achin." This reference shows that
the book, though begun in A.D. 1612, was not
actually completed till some years later. It
is very much to be regretted that the Malay
historian should have confined his work to the
records of the past and should have given us
no account whatever of the stirring incidents
in which he personally, as Bendahara, must
have played a most prominent part.

Sultan Alaedin Riayat Shah III. was suc-
ceeded by his brother Raja Abdullah, who
took the title of Sultan Abdullah Maayat Shah.

92

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

The new ruler. possessed many good qualities
and he had the advantage of being married to
a sister of Mahkota Alam, but was extremely
unfortunate in being forced to contend against
so jealous a "potentate as his brother-in-law.
He seems to have led the wandering existence
of a Pretender-King. In a.d. 1623 he was cer-
tainly driven out of the island of Linggi by
an Achinese force. In A.D. 1634 the Dutch
records speak of Pahang and Johore as being
incorporated in the kingdom of Achin. No
Dutch ships ever visited Abdullah during his
sultanate ; no Dutch factors were ever sta-
tioned at his Court. He was deserving but
unfortunate — a mere claimant to a throne that
the Achinese would not permit him to fill.
He died in a.d. 1637.

He was succeeded — if indeed we can speak
of succession to so barren a title — by his
nephew, Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah II., son_ of
the Sultan Alaedin Riayat Shah III. who died at
Achin. The new ruler was more fortunate
than his predecessor in that the Achinese
power was now on the wane. The mighty
Mahkota Alam, the most powerful and most
ambitious of the rulers of Achin, was dead ;
his sceptre had passed into the hands of
women. These years — from 1637 onwards —
may be considered years of revival among the
Malay States that had been reduced to vassal-
age by Achin, for they gave a new lease of
life to the kingdoms of Johore, Pahang and
Perak. In a.d. 1639 the Dutch, who were
anxious to procure native assistance for the
siege of Malacca, made overtures to the Sultan.
Possessing the command of the sea, they
wanted Malay auxiliaries to assist them with
supplies and transport and to help in hem-
ming in the Portuguese by land. The Dutch
Admiral Van de Veer accordingly entered into
an agreement with Abdul Jalil Shah and' defi-
nitely secured him as an ally in the war
against Malacca. This time the Portuguese
stronghold was captured (a.d. 1641).

In spite of the fact that the military com-
manders at Malacca were not altogether satis-
fied with the help given them by their Malay
allies, the Dutch civil authorities did their best
to show gratitude to Johore and to restore it
as much as possible to its old position. They
arranged peace between Johore and Achin,
and gave various other assurances of . their
goodwill to the Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah. We
hear of various complimentary missions being
exchanged between Johore and Batavia with-
out much practical result. What else, indeed,
could we have expected ? Johore became
useless to Holland as soon as the capture of
Malacca gave the Dutch a better station in the
Straits than the old trading factory of Batu
Sawar had ever been. Johore had no indus-
tries, no trade, no productive hinterland ; it
was bound to decline. Sultan Abdul Jalil lived
long enough to see a great calamity overwhelm
his country. A quarrel with the Sultan of
Jambi led in a.d. 1673 to a war in which
Johore was plundered and burnt and its aged
rulerdriven into exile. The death of the old
Sultan — who did not long survive the shock
of the destruction of his capital — brought to an
end the direct line of the Johore dynasty.

He, was succeeded by a cousin, a Pahang
Prince who took the name of Sultan Ibrahim

Shah. The new ruler's energy infused fresh
life into the State ; he established himself at
Riau in order to carry on the war against Jambi
more effectively than from Johore Lama ; he
allied himself with the Dutch, and in time
succeeded in regaining what his predeces-
sor had lost. But he did not live long. On
February 16, 1685, he died, leaving an only
son, who was at once placed on the throne
under the title of Sultan Mahmud Shah. As
the new Sultan was a mere boy, his mother
became Regent, but she allowed all real power
to be vested in the Bendahara Paduka Raja,
the loyal and able minister of her late husband,
the victorious Sultan Ibrahim. She was wisely
advised in so doing. Peace was assured ; the
traditional friendship with Holland was loyally
kept up by the Bendahara ; internal troubles
of all kinds were avoided. Unfortunately the
Bendahara died, and his headstrong ward took
the government of the State into his own hands.
In a.d. 1691 we hear of him as ruling from
Johore. This young Sultan, Mahmud Shah II.,
the last Prince of his race — ruler of Pahang
and Riau as well as of Johore — is the most
mysterious and tragic figure in Malay history.
He was said to be.the victim of one of those
terrible ghostly visitants, a Malay vampire,
the spirit of a woman dead in childbirth and
full of vengeance against the cause of her
death. He is accused, by Malay traditions from
all parts of the peninsula, of having slain in
the most fiendish manner those of his wives
who had the misfortune to become pregnant.
Probably he was mad ; but no form of madness
could have been more dangerous to a prince
in his position. The frail Hfe of this insane
and hated Sultan was the only thing that stood
between any bold conspirator and the thrones
of Johore, Pahang, and Linggi. The end
came in a.d. 1699. As the young ruler was
being carried to mosque at Kota Tinggi on the
shoulders of one of his retainers he was stabbed
to death. All Malay tradition ascribes this
assassination to the Sultan's minister, the
Bendahara Sri Maharaja, head of the great
family that is described in the " Malay Annals "
as glorying in the tradition of fidelity to its
Princes. With the death of the Sultan Mahmud
Shah II. the dynasty of Malacca, Johore, and
Pahang disappears from the page of history.
In the records of this long line of Kings the
point that most impresses the student is the
curiously personal character of Malay sove-
reignty. In Europe, where all the Continent
is divided up under different rulers, there is
no place for a fallen king except as a subject.
In the thinly pop'.ilated Malay world the
position was entirely different. So long as
a fugitive prince could induce a few followers
to share his lot, he could always find some
unoccupied valley or river in which to set up
his miniature Court. The wandering exile
Raja Abdullah (a.d. 1615-37), whose movements
cannot be traced and the date of whose death
is uncertain, was nevertheless a king — " Sultan
Abdullah Maayat Shah, the glory of his land
and of his time." He was born in the purple.
But to less highly born adventurers the
acquisition of royal rank, as distinct from
mere power, was a very difficult matter. All
Malay popular feeling is against the " worm "
that aspires to become a " dragon." If a bad

harvest or a murrain or any other misfortune
had overtaken the subjects of an upstart king,
all Malaya would have explained it as the
Nemesis that waits on sacrilege, the result of
outraging the divine majesty of kings. Royalty
was a mere matter of caste, but a great Sultan
might create minor Sultans, just as the Emperor
of China made a Sultan of the Paramisura
Muhammad Shah, or as Sultan Mansur Shah
divided his dominions between his sons, or as
Sultan Mahmud Shah I. gave sovereign rank to
his son Ahmad Shah, or as Queen Victoria may
be said to have created the sultanates of Johore
and Pahang. Titular dignity was one thing ;
real authority was another. Powerful de facto
rulers such as (in recent times) the Bendahara
of Pahang, the Temenggong of Johore and the
Dato' of Rembau, and great territorial magnates
like the Maharaja Perba of Jelai, were kings
in all except the name. The glamour of titles
and of royal descent is so great that it often
obscures realities. The Dutch when they
negotiated their treaty with the Sultan of
Achin found, when too late, that he was
Sultan in rank only, not .in power. The
sympathy that has been lavished upon the
dispossessed princely house of Singapore is
based upon a misconception of. the meaning
of Malay " royalty." Royal rank meant prestige,
position, influence — the things that lead to
power. Royal rank was a great thing in
Malay eyes and justified the attention that they
devoted to pedigrees and to the discussion of
the relative importance of the articles that made
up a king's regalia. But the student of Malay
things who mistakes mere rank for power will
constantly be surprised to find, as Admiral
Matelief was astonished to discover, that a
Malay Prince is often an orang miskin — a very
poor person indeed !

Immediately after the death of the unhappy
Mahmud Shah, his murderer, the Bendahara
Sri Maharaja, ascended the throne of Johore
and Pahang under the title of Sultan Abdul
Jalil Riayat Shah. Like most Princes who
obtain a crown by violence, he found that his
position was one of ever-growing danger from
malcontents at home and enemies abroad.
Two new disturbing forces had entered the
arena of Malayan politics. The first was the
great Menangkabau immigration ; the second
was the continued presence of Bugis fleets and
colonies on the peninsula coast. A constant
stream of industrious Sumatran Malays had for
some time past been pouring into the inland
district now known as the Negri Sambilan.
These men, being very tenacious of their own
tribal rights and customs, resented any inter-
ference from Johore. The Bugis were even
more dangerous. They were more warlike and
more energetic than the Malays ; they built
bigger ships ; they were ambitious, and they
seemed anxious to get a firm footing in the
country. In A.D. 1713 Sultan Abdul Jalil Riayat
Shah tried to strengthen his position by a
closer alliance with, the Dutch ; but such a
policy, though it might assist him against
foreign foes, was of very little avail against the
enemies of his own household. In a.d. 1617
(or a little earlier) an incident occurred that
may be described as one of the more extra-
ordinary events in Malay history. A Menang-
kabau adyenturer calling himself Raja K^chil

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

93

appeared in Johore. He gave himself out to be
a postliumous son of the murdered Mahmud
Shah and stirred up a revolution in the capital.
But the strangest part of the incident was its
termination. The upstart Sultan Abdul Jalil
Riayat Shah consented to revert to his old
position of Bendahara Sri Maharaja and to
serve under the impostor, Raja Kfchil, whose
claims he must have known to be false. To
cement this alliance between murder and fraud
the ex-Sultan agreed to give his daughter,
Tengku Tengah, in marriage to the new Sultan,
who took the name of Abdul Jalil Rahmat
Shah.

It is difficult to exactly trace the course of
events after this point because we have two
Malay partisan histories written from opposite
points of view. One history accepts this Raja
Kechil as a true son of the murdered Sultan
Mahmud ; the other treats him as a scoundrel
and an impostor, and makes a martyr of the
deposed assassin, Sultan Abdul Jalil Riayat
Shah. There can be no doubt that the Benda-
hara's relatives conspired with the Bugis
against their new master, but the details of
the plot are not very clear. According to one
account ^.a woman's jealousy provoked the
trouble. Raja Kechil had jilted Tgngku Tengah
in order to marry her younger sister, Tengku
Kamariah. This little change in the original
plan did not injure the Bendahara, but it made
a great deal of difference to the ambitious
Tengku Tengah and caused further dissension
in a family that was already divided by personal
jealousies. As the children of the Bendahara
who were born after his accession to the throne
denied that their elder brothers, who were
born before their father became a king, had
any right to call themselves princes, it is
not surprising that intrigues and conspiracies
should have been begun. It happened that
there was at this time in Johore a Bugis adven-
turer named Daeng Parani. Tengku Sulaiman,
eldest son of the Bendahara, went to this man
and appealed to him for help in overthrowing
the upstart Raja Kfichil. Daeng Parani hesi-
tated ; the odds against him were too great.
TSngku Sulaiman then tried to win over the
Bugis adventurer by promising him the hand
of his sister, Tengku Tengah, in marriage.
Daeng Parani again refused. At this juncture
Tengku Tengah herself came forward and
made a personal appeal to the love and chivalry
of the Bugis chief. Daeng Parani now con-
sented to act. With great boldness — for he
had only a handful of men in the heart of a
hostile capital — he surrounded the Sultan's
residence and endeavoured to slay Raja Kechil
and to abduct Tfingku Kamariah. He was
only partially successful ; the Sultan escaped.
Daeng Parani fled to Selangor, leaving his
fellow-conspirators behind. Tengku Sulaiman
and Tengku Tengah fled to Pahang. The aged
Bendahara, father of Tengku Sulaiman and
Tengku Tengah, feeling that he would be
suspected of having taken a part in the con-
spiracy, followed his children in their flight,
but was overtaken and murdered at Kuala
Pahang. He is the Sultan known as marhum
kuala Pahang. Tengku Sulaiman, however,
managed to make good his escape and ulti-
mately joined his Bugis friends.

After these incidents Raja Kechil — or Abdul

Jalil Rahmat Shah as he styled himself —
abandoned Johore Lama, the scene of so many
misfortunes to Malay Kings, and made a new
capital for himself at Riau. He carried on
with great courage and success a desultory
war against the Bugis, but was ultimately out-
manoiuvred and lost his position as Sultan of
Johore, because the Bugis ships, having enticed
the Malay fleet to Kuala Linggi, doubled back
during the night and suddenly appeared before
Riau. In the absence of its King and his
followers, Riau could offer no resistance. The
Bugis proclaimed Tengku Sulaiman Sultan of
Johore under the title of Sultan Sulaiman
Badru'l-alamShah. The principal Bugis chief,
Daeng Merowah (or Klana Jaya Putra) became
"Yang-di-Pertuan Muda" of Riau, with the title
of Sultan Alaedin Shah, while another Bugis
chief, Daeng Manompo, became " Raja tua "
under the title of Sultan Ibrahim Shah. This
seems to have occurred on October 22,
A.D. 1721, but the formal investiture only took
place on October 4, 1722. To strengthen their
position, the Bugis chiefs allied themselves in
marriage with the Malays. Daeng Manompo
married Tun Tepati, aunt of Sultan Sulaiman ;
Daeng Merowah maiTied Inche' Ayu, daughter
of the ex-Temenggong Abdul Jalil and widow
of the murdered Sultan Mahmud ; Daeng
Parani had married Tengku Tengah ; and
Daeng Chelak sought to marry Tengku Ka-
mariah, the captured wife of Raja Kechil.
Other Bugis chiefs — Daeng Sasuru and Daeng
Mengato — married nieces of Sultan Sulaiman.

As the Bugis accounts of the Raja Kechil
incident differ very materially from the Malay
version, we can hardly hope to get a thoroughly
reliable history of the events that led to the
establishment of Bugis kingdoms in the Straits
of Malacca. We may, however, consider it
certain that Raja Kechil was not a posthumous
son of Sultan Mahmud Shah. Dutch records
prove that Raja Kechil was an extremely old
man in A.D. 1745 ; they even provide strong
evidence that he was fifty-three years of age
when he seized the throne of Johore. He
must therefore have been an older man than
the Prince whom he claimed as his father. In
all probability Raja Kechil won his kingdom by
mere right of conquest, supplanting a murderer
who was quite ready to give up an untenable
throne and to take a secure position as Benda-
hara under a strong ruler. In later years, when
the Malays became savagely hostile to their
Bugis masters, they were doubtless ready to ac-
cept any tale and to follow a Menangkabau
ruler, who was at least a Malay, in preference
to the Bugis pirates and their miserable tool.
Sultan Sulaiman Shah. But when Raja Kechil
died the Malays rallied to the side of his
younger son (who had a royal Malay mother)
and treated the elder son as a mere alien with-
out any claim to the throne. The murder at
Kota Tinggi in A.D. 1699 had divided the alle-
giance of the Malay world and contributed
greatly to the success of the Bugis. It was
only at the close of the eighteenth century
that the old Johore communities again recog-
nised a common ruler.

The Bugis chiefs at Riau paid very little
attention to the puppet-Sultans that they set
up. They so exasperated Sultan Sulaiman
that he soon left his sultanate and fled to

Kampar. After this incident the Bugis felt
that they had gone too far, and they made a
new treaty with their titular sovereign and
induced him to return to Riau. It should be
understood that even with Sultan Sulaiman's
help the Bugis position at Riau was very in-
secure. Raja Kechil, who had established
himself at Siak, gained many victories and re-
peatedly attacked his enemies in their very
capital. In a.d. 1727 he even abducted his
wife, Tengku Kamariah, who was held captive
at Riau itself. In a.d. 1728, with the aid of
Palembang troops, he laid siege to Riau and
was repulsed. In a.d. 1729 the Bugis block-
aded Siak and were repulsed in their turn.
The history of the whole of this period of Bugis
activity (1721-85) is extremely involved, but
it is fully discussed in Dutch works, especially
in the thirty-fifth volume of the Transactions
of the Batavian Society. We can only briefly
refer to it.

The policy of the Dutch — so far as their
general unwillingness to interfere allowed of
any policy — was that of supporting the Malays
against the restless and piratical Bugis. It was
a difficult policy, this assistance of the weak
against the strong, but it proved successful in
the end. Looking at it in the light of ultimate
results, we can compare two exactly similar
situations, one in 1756 and the other in 1784,
and notice the difference in treatment. On
both occasions Malacca was attacked.

On the first occasion the Dutch, after re-
pelling the attack on their fortress, allied
themselves with the Malays (Sultan Sulaiman,
his son the Tengku BSsar, and his son-in-law
the Sultan of Trengganu), and forced the Bugis
to come to terms (a.d. 1757) and to acknow-
ledge the Sultan of Johore as their lawful
sovereign. This plan did not work well, as
Sultan Sulaiman had great difficulty in en-
forcing his authority. To make matters worse,
his death (August 20, 1760) occurred at a time
when his eldest son, the Tengku BSsar, was
on a mission to the Bugis Princes of Linggi
and Selangor. If Malay records are to be
believed, the Bugis chief, Daeng Kamboja,
was not a man to waste an opportunity. He
poisoned the Tengku Besar and then took his
body, with every possible manifestation of
grief, back to Riau to be buried. At the burial
he proclaimed the Tengku Besar's young son
Sultan of Johore under the title of Sultan
Ahmad Riayat Shah, but he also nominated
himself to be Regent. When the unhappy
boy-King was a little older, and seemed likely
to take the government into his own hands,
he too was poisoned, so as to allow a mere
child, his brother. Sultan Mahmud Riayat Shah,
to be made Sultan and to prolong the duration
of the Regency. The Dutch plan of securing
Malay ascendancy had completely failed.

On the second occasion (when Raja Haji
attacked Malacca in 1784) the Dutch, after
repelling the attack and killing the Bugis
chief, followed up their success by driving the
Bugis out of Riau and recognising the young
Malay Sultan Mahmud Riayat Shah as the
ruler of Johore. But on this occasion they felt
that they could not trust any native dynasty to
maintain permanent peace. They accordingly
made a treaty with the Sultan, and stationed
a Resident with a small Dutch garrison at Riau.

94

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

This plan did not work very well at first ; it
pleased neither the Bugis nor the Malay chiefs.
The fifth Bugis "Yamtuan Muda " attacked
I^iau ; the Malay Sultan fled from his capital
to get up a coalition against the Dutch ; even
the Ilanun pirates made an attack upon the
place. In time, however, when the various
chiefs came to recognise that the glories of
independence were not sufficient compensation
for losing the creature-comforts of security
and peace, both the Sultan Mahmud Shah
and the Bugis Yamtuan Muda settled down
definitely at Riau and accepted the part of
dependent Princes.

The following pedigree shows the branches
of the Bugis family that ruled in the Straits.

derived a considerable portion of their slender
revenue from piracy. Generally, the condition
of the country was anarchical. There was
little trade and less agriculture, and the popu-
lation was very scanty. The Dutch had a
great opportunity of extending their influence
throughout the peninsula, but they lacked the
conciliatory qualities which are essential in
dealing with so proud and highly intellectual
a people as the Malays. Their power, such as
it was, was greatly shaken by a " regrettable
occurrence " in Selangor in 1785 which dimmed
the lustre of their laurels. The State, as we
have seen, was settled in the eighteenth cen-
tury by a Bugis colony from the Celebes, and
at the period named it was under the govern-

Upu Tanderi Burong
(a Bugis chief)

I I .1

Daeng Perani Daeng Merowah, Daeng Chelak,

(died 1725 A.D.) Klana Jaya Putra, Sultan Alaedin Sultan Alaedin Shah II.

Shah I. (First Yang-di-Pertuan (Second Yang-di-Pertuan Muda

Muda of Riau, 1721-28)

Daeng Kamboja,

Sultan Alaedin Shah III.

(Third Yang-di-Pertuan Muda,

I74S-77)

i

Raja Ali

(Fifth Yang-di-Pertuan Muda)

Sultan Mahmud Riayat Shah of Johore died
in the year 1812 A.D., leaving two sons,
Tfngku Husain and Tengku Abdurrahman.
The latter was at once proclaimed Sultan by
the Bugis Yang-di-Pertuan Muda of Riau.
Tengku Husain, who was absent in Pahang
at the time of his father's death, returned to
Riau, but appears to have made no effective
protest against his younger brother's accession.
Sultan Abdurrahman was recognised as Sultan
of Johore and Pahang by both the Dutch and
the English until January, 1819, when it suited
Sir Stamford Raffles to repudiate that recog-
nition and to accord to Tengku Husain the
title of Sultan of Johore. From this time the
line of Sultans divides into two, one branch
reigning under Dutch protection in the island
of Linggi, the other living under British pro-
tection in the town of Singapore itself.

Raja Lumu,
Sultan Selaheddin Shah
(First Sultan of Selangor)

of Riau, 1728-45)

I

1
Raja Haji
(Fourth Yang-di-Pertuan Muda
of Riau, 1777-84)

CHAPTER VII.

The Early British Connection with the
States.

When the British occupied Pinang at the
close of the eighteenth century the situation
on the mainland was a confused one. The
Dutch held Malacca, and their power extended
over Naning, and to a less extent over Rem-
bau and the Negri Sambilan, and they had
a factory in Selangor which they utilised for
the enforcement of their tin monopoly. In
the north were the Siamese hovering about the
confines of Kedah and menacing Trengganu
and Kelantan. The separate States were ruled
by chiefs whose power was despotically exer-
cised, and who, in the majority of instances,

ment of Sultan Ibrahim, a sturdy chief who
commanded a great reputation amongst the
people of the area. In 1784 the Sultan, with his
ally the Muda of Riau, Raja Haji, attacked
Malacca, plundered and burned the suburbs
of the city, and would probably have com-
pleted the conquest of the place but for the
timely arrival in the roads of a Dutch fleet
under Admiral Von Braam. The Dutch suc-
ceeded in defeating the combined forces, and
later carried the war into the enemy's country.
But Sultan Ibrahim, deeming discretion the
better part of valour, fled to Pahang, leaving
the Dutch to occupy Selangor without opposi-
tion. Subsequently Ibrahim crossed the penin-
sula from Pahang with about two thousand
followers, and made a night attack on the
Dutch fort on June 27, 1785. Panic-stricken,
the Dutch garrison abandoned their fort in a
disgraceful manner, leaving behind them all
their heavy artillery, ammunition, and a con-
siderable amount of property. The Dutch
threatened reprisals, and Ibrahim made peace
with them by restoring the plunder and
acknowledging the suzerainty of the Nether-
lands East India Company. The chief, how-
ever, was never reconciled to the connection,
and he made repeated overtures to the authori-
ties of Pinang for the extension of British
protection to his State.

When Malacca was handed back to the
Dutch in 1818, under the terms of the Treaty
of Vienna, there was, as we have already noted,
a feeling of alarm excited amongst the British
community at Pinang. Not only was the retro-
cession regarded as in itself a serious blow to
British prestige, but there were apprehensions
that the re-establishment of the Dutch at this
fine strategical centre would effectually pre-
vent the extension of British influence in the

peninsula. The Pinang merchants on June 8,
1818, wrote to the Government on the subject
of the desirability of the adoption of a more
active poHcy in the Malay peninsula. In the
course of their communication they adverted
to the extensive commercial intercourse then
carried on by British subjects from Pinang
with Perak, Selangor, Riau, Cringore and
Pontiana, and other ports in Borneo, and ex-
pressed apprehension that the Dutch on
reoccupying Malacca would endeavour to
make exclusive treaties with the chiefs of
those States very detrimental to British trade.
They therefore earnestly pressed the Governor
(Colonel Bannerman) to lose no time in en-
deavouring to enter into friendly alliance
with the chiefs of these countries, which
would secure for British merchants equal
privileges with those of the subjects of other
nations. The Government, acting promptly
upon the suggestion, despatched Mr. Cracroft,
Malay translator to the Government, to the
adjoining States of Perak and Selangor for the
purpose of forming treaties which would at
least prevent a monopoly on the part of the
Dutch, and secure for Pinang a fair partici-
pation in the general trade of the States-
There was at the time war raging between
Kedah and Perak over the question of the des-
patch of a token of homage by the latter to the
Siam Court. Mr. Cracroft was instructed by
the short-sighted autocrat of Pinang to urge
submission to the demand, and as the Perak
people were little disposed to yield, his
mission was for a time imperilled by the
attitude he assumed. Eventually, however,
by clever diplomacy, he managed to obtain
the desired treaty. Proceeding to Selangor,
Mr. Cracroft concluded a similar treaty there.

At or about this time efforts were made by
the Pinang Government to revive the tin
trade, which had greatly suffered by the
transfer of the island of Banca to the Dutch.
A reference has been made to this in the
Pinang section of the work, but a more ex-
tended account of the transactions may be
given here. The movement was prompted
by offers from the Sultans of Perak, Selangor,
and Patani to furnish supplies of the product.
The Sultan of Perak was especially friendly.
As far back as 1816 he not only made an offer
to the Government of a tin monopoly, but
tendered also the island of Pangkor and the
Dinding district on the mainland for the trifling
consideration of 2,000 dollars a year. This
Sultan was the same chief who expelled the
Dutch from Selangor in 1785. In these favour-
able circumstances Mr. John Anderson was
despatched with full powers to negotiate
with the chiefs named for the re-establish-
ment of the trade.

In conformity with his instructions, Mr.
Anderson proceeded to the States of Perak,
Selangor, and Colong. An interesting rela-
tion of what befel him is given in a pamphlet
he issued some years later under the title of
"Observations on the Restoration of Banca
and Malacca." From this we may sum-
marise the facts. Despite the circumstance
that Perak was in a state of anarchy at
the time of his arrival, the result of his
mission was by no means unfavourable even
there, while at Selangor and Colong, although

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

95

considerable difficulties were encountered, the
objects attained fully realised the expectations
formed, an engagement having been made
for 1,500 piculs of tin annually to the Com-
pany at the low price of 43 dollars per bahar,
which was considerably less than expected.
The contract was a perpetual one, but it
appeared to Mr. Anderson that the establish-
ment of native agents at the different States,
as had been suggested by a Committee which
had sat in Pinang before he left, would not
only be ineffectual for the purposes intended,
but involve a heavy expense without any corre-
sponding benefit, and be much less adapted for
the purpose of extending and encouraging the
tin trade than the formation of a small factory
at an island near the chief port where the tin
was procured, to which natives of their own
accord would resort for the sale of tin. He
consequently recommended the establishment
of a factory on the island of Pangkor, near the
Bindings, and distant from the Perak river
about 12 miles. It was pointed out by Mr,
Anderson that tlie island was peculiarly well
situated for the contemplated purpose. It
abounded in canes, rattans, wood-oil, dammar,
and crooked timber for ships. The water was
particularly excellent, the harbour safe, and in
fine the island possessed almost every advan-
tage that could be desired for the purpose
stated. Independently of its occupation being
important in a commercial sense, it would, he
pointed out, be the means of preventing pirates
resorting there, as they had been in the habit
of doing. The Government at Pinang approved
the scheme, and obtained the sanction of the
Supreme Government to establish a factory at
Pangkor, " provided a cession of the island
could be obtained from a power competent
to grant it, and there was no probability of
difficulties afterwards arising as to the legality
of the occupation." The circumstances were
not immediately favourable for the execution
of the plan suggested by Mr. Anderson. The
Sultan of Perak had long claimed the island as
a dependency of that State, but the Sultan of
Selangor had, with more propriety, made a
similar claim, and his son was in fact in
possession of the island and part of the main-
land district known as the Bindings. Mean-
while, the Sultan of Kedah, having invaded
Perak territory, was disposed to regard it as
his by right of conquest. To this potentate
Mr. Anderson applied in January, 18 19, for the
cession of the island, and for permission to
allow his chiefs to continue disposing of the
tin collected to the British agents in Perak.
The Sultan of Kedah replied that he could not
comply, as he was under the authority of
Siara, and pending a communication from the
King of Siam as to how matters were to be
settled he could do nothing. While these
negotiations were proceeding -the Government
of Pinang had been taking steps to forward the
tin trade with Patani. Their operations were,
however, hampered by the Sultan of Kedah's
agents, and were ultimately completely nulli-
fied by the imposition of what was practically
a prohibitive export duty. Shortly afterwards
a new complication was introduced into the
tangled thread of Perak politics by the intru-
sion of a Butch mission into the territory with
the object of founding a settlement there.

Both the Kedah and the Perak people were
extremely averse to the Dutch designs, and
an urgent representation in favour of inviting
British interference was made by the Benda-
liara of Perak to the Sultan of Kedah. The
withdrawal of the Butch mission to Malacca
relieved the situation, and nothing came of
the proposal immediately. But two months
later, when the Kedah forces evacuated Perak,
the Bendahara wrote to Mr. Anderson offering
to enter into -t treaty with him for the supply
of tin. The Butch Government about this
time sent an embassy to Selangor and in-
sisted upon the King renewing an obsolete
treaty which prejudiced British interests.
The Sultan promptly communicated the fact
to Pinang, and at the same time expressed his
desire to fulfil his engagements, In June Mr.
Cracroft was despatched again to Colong and
Selangor, and on his return availed himself of
the opportunity of bringing up 310 bahars of
tin which were ready for Mr. Anderson.

The death of Colonel Bannerman rendered it
expedient to suspend the execution of the con-
tract with the Sultan of Selangor and to dis-
continue the collection of tin on account of the
Company. The whole of the tin collected,
about 2,000 piculs, having been properly
smelted, was ultimately sold at the price of
18 Spanish dollars per picul. There was a
gain on the adventure of 5,396.41 Spanish
dollars, besides the Custom House duties,
which amounted to 800 dollars more. The
Hon. Mr. Clubley, in a minute on the subject,
expressed the view that sufficient had been
done for the beneficial purposes contemplated.
" I quite agree with the Hon. the President
in the justice of his ideas, that we shall best
encourage the trade in tin by endeavouring, as
much as lies in our power, to remove the
barriers which, at present, either the selfish
or timid policy of the neighbouring Malay
Governments has opposed to the free transit
of that article. The opening of a free com-
munication with the Kwala Muda will be
highly desirable in this view on the one side,
and on the other, the possession of Pankor, if
it could be done with propriety, would facilitate
trade with Perak and render it liable to the
least possible obstructions. I am aware, how-
ever, of the justice and propriety of the Hon.
the President's objections against our occupa-
tion of Pankor at present, in view to avoid
any cause for jealousy either from the Butch
Government or from that of Siam under
present circumstances. It does not appear to
me, however, that any objections do arise from
any other quarter to prevent this desirable
measure being attained, and when the discus-
sions which have been referred to Europe shall
be adjusted, I certainly hope to see that island
an integral part of this Government and
forming (as it will essentially do) a great
protection to the passing trade, especially of
tin from Perak and Selangor, and a material
obstruction, when guarded by a British detach-
ment, to the enormous system of piracy that
at present prevails in that part of the Straits. . . ,
From the foregoing observations, it is needless
to add I consider, as the Hon. President does,
that it becomes unnecessary to persevere in
enforcing our treaties, with the Rajas of Perak
and Selangor for our annual supply of tin.

Yet, if circumstances had been otherwise, I
would assuredly have added ray humble voice
in deprecating and resenting the overbearing
assumptions of our Netherlands neighbours at
Malacca, who in the most uncourteous, if not
unjustifiable, manner have prevailed on the
Raja of Selangor to annul a former treaty
he had concluded with this Government, for
the purpose of substituting an obsolete one
of their own. The superior authorities will
no doubt view in this procedure a continuation
only of the same system which has been
practised universally by the Dutch since they
resumed the government of the Eastern
islands,"

The Siamese connection with the affairs of
the Malay Peninsula cannot be overlooked in a
general survey of the history of the federated
area. From a very early period, as has been
noted, the Siamese had relations with the
northern portions of the region. Their influ-
ence varied in degree from time to time with
the fortunes of their country ; but they would
appear to have effectually stamped the impress
of their race upon the population at the period
of the occupation of Pinang. On the strength of
their position as the dominant power seated at
the northern end of the peninsula, they put for-
ward claims to supremacy over several of the
principal Malay States, notably Kedah, Patani,
Perak, and Selangor. These claims were
never, there is reason to think, fully conceded,
but occasionally, under stress of threats, the
chiefs of the States rendered the traditional
tribute, known as the Bunga Mas, or flower
of gold. Kedah conceded this degree of
dependence upon the Siamese power early
in the nineteenth century, but when demands
were made upon it for more substantial
homage it resolutely declined to submit, with
the result that the State, in November, 1821,
was overrun by a horde of Siamese under
the Raja of Ligore, and conquered in the
circumstances of hideous barbarity related in
the Pinang section of this work. What fol-
lowed may be related in the words of Mr.
Anderson in his famous pamphlet previously
referred to • : " Having effected the complete
subjugation of Quedah and possessed himself
of the country, the Raja of Ligore next
turned his attention to one of its principal
dependencies, one of the Lancavy islands, and
fitted out a strong, well-equipped expedition,
which proceeded to the principal island, which,
independent of possessing a fixed population
of three or four thousand souls, had received
a large accession by emigrants from Quedah.
Here, too, commenced a scene of death and
desolation almost exceeding credibility. The
men were murdered and the women and
female children carried off to Quedah, while
the male children were either put to death
or left to perish. . . Several badly planned
and ineffectual attempts have at different times
been made by unorganised bodies of the King
of Quedah's adherents in the country to cut off
the Siamese garrison in Quedah, but these
have all been followed by the most disastrous
results ; not only by the destruction of the
assailants, but b>- increased persecution towards

' " Considerations on the Conquest of Quedah and
Perak by the Siamese."

96

TWEXTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

the remaining Malayan inhabitants. The King
himself for some time was anxious to have
made an effort to regain his country, in concert
with some native powers which had promised
him aid in vessels and men ; but he was dis-
suaded from so perilous and certainly doubtful
an enterprise by those who were interested in
his cause, and who apprehended his certain
overthrow and destruction from an attempt of
the kind. There is no doubt the Siamese were
too powerful and too well prepared for any
such ill-arranged expedition as it could have
been within the compass of the Quedah Raja's
means to have brought against them to have
had any chance of success ; and it would have
been inconsistent with the professed neutrality
of the British Government to have permitted
any equipments or warlike preparations within
its ports, the more particularly so as a mission
had just proceeded to Siam from the Governor-
General of India.

" However much disposed the Pinang
Government might have been on the first
blush of the affair to have stopped such
proceedings on the part of the Siamese and
to have checked such ambitious and un-
warrantable aggression, however consistent
and politic it might have been to have treated
the Ligorean troops as a predatory horde and
expelled them at once from the territories of an
old and faithful ally of the British Government,
the mission from the Supreme Government of
Bengal to the Court of Siam, and the probable
evil consequences of an immediate rupture,
were considerations which could not fail to
embarrass the Pinang Government and render
it necessary to deliberate well before it em-
barked in any measures of active hostility ;
while the disposable force on the island,
although fully adequate to the safe guardian-
ship and protection of the place, and sufficient
to repel any force that the Siamese could
bring against it, was yet insufficient for pro-
secuting a vigorous war, or maintaining its
conquests against the recruited legions which
the Siamese power could have transported
with facility, ere reinforcements could have
arrived from other parts of India. Under all
these circumstances the policy of suspending
hostilities was manifest, and it was deemed
proper to await the orders of the superior
and controlling authorities. It was ex-

pected that the mission would have produced
some results advantageous to the interests of
our ally, by the mediation of the Ambassador,
and that, at all events, the affairs of Quedah
would have been settled upon a proper footing.
So far, however, from any of these most
desirable objects which were contemplated
being attained, the Siamese authorities not only
assumed a tone of insolence and evasion to all
the reasonable propositions of the Ambassador,
but signified their expectation that the King of
Quedah should be delivered up to them.

"The King of Ligore, not satisfied with the
conquest of Quedah, and grasping at more
extended dominion, under pretence of con-
veying back some messengers from Perak
who had carried the Bunga Mas, or token
of homage, to Quedah, requested permission
for a fleet to pass through Pinang harbour,
which, being conducted beyond the borders
by a cruiser, proceeded to Perak, and, after a

short struggle, his (the King of Ligore's) forces
also possessed themselves of that country,
which had been reduced by the Quedah
forces in 1818, by the orders of Siam, in
consequence of a refusal to send the Bunga
Mas, a refusal thoroughly justified, for the
history of that oppressed State affords no in-
stance of such a demand ever having been
made by Siam or complied with before."

It was understood that Selangor was to
be the next place attacked, but the timely
preparations of, and the determined attitude
taken up by, the Raja of that country deterred
the Siamese from making the attempt. But it
was evident from their actions, Mr. Anderson
thinks, that they contemplated the total over-
throw and subjugation of all the Malayan
States on the peninsula and the subversion
of the Mahomedan religion. Raffles, with his
clear-sighted vision, had an equally strong
opinion of the subversive tendencies of Sia-
mese policy. In a letter dated June 7, 1823,
addressed to Mr. John Crawfurd, on the occa-
sion of his handing over to that official the
administration of Singapore, he drew attention
to the political relations of Siam with the Malay
States in order to guide him as to the line he
should adopt in his political capacity. After
stating that in his opinion the policy hitherto
pursued by the British had been founded on
erroneous principles, Raffles proceeded : " The
dependence of the tributary States in this case
is founded on no rational relation which con-
nects them with the Siamese nation. These
people are of opposite manners, language, re-
ligion, and general interests, and the superiority
maintained by the one over the other is so
remote from protection on the one side or
attachment on the other, that it is but a simple
exercise of capricious tj'ranny by the stronger
party, submitted to by the weaker from the law
of necessity. We have ourselves for nearly
forty years been eye-witnesses of the pernicious
influence exercised by the Siamese over the
Malayan States. During the revolution of the
Siamese Government these profit by its weak-
ness, and from cultivating an intimacy with
strangers, especially with ours over other Euro-
pean nations, they are always in a fair train of
prosperity ; with the settlement of the Siamese
Government, on the contrary, it invariably
regains the exercise of its tyranny, and the
Malayan States are threatened, intimidated, and
plundered. The recent invasion of Kedah is a
striking example in point, and from the infor-
mation conveyed to me it would appear that
that commercial seat, governed by a prince of
the most respectable character, long personally
attached to our nation, has only been saved
from a similar fate by a most unlooked-for
event. By the independent Malayan States,
who may be supposed the best judges of this
matter, it is important to observe, the connec-
tion of the tributary Malays with Siam is looked
upon as a matter of simple compulsion. Fully
aware of our power and in general deeply
impressed with respect for our national
character, still it cannot be denied that we
suffer at the present moment in their good
opinion by withholding from them that pro-
tection from the oppression of the Siamese
which it would be so easy for us to give ; and
Ihe case is stronger with regard to Kedah than

the rest, for here a general impression is abroad
amongst them that we refuse an assistance that
we are by treaty virtually bound to give, since
we entered into a treaty with that State as an
independent Power, without regarding the
supremacy of Siam, or even alluding to its
connection for five-and-twenty years after our
first establishment at Pinang. The prosperity of
the settlement under your direction is so much
connected with that of the Malayan nation in its
neighbourhood, and this again depends so much
upon their liberty and security from foreign op-
pression, that I must seriously recommend to
your attention the contemplation of the probable
event of their deliverance from the yoke of Siam,
and your making the Supreme Government im-
mediately informed of every event which may
promise to lead to that desirable result."

Raffles was so impressed with the vital
importance of the question that, besides inditing
this suggestive letter of advice to his successor,
he wrote to the Supreme Government urging
the necessity of a strong policy in dealing with
the Siamese. "The conduct and character of
the Court of Siam," he wrote, "offer no open-
ing for friendly negotiations on the footing on
which European States would treat with each
other, and require that in our future communi-
cations we should rather dictate what we con-
sider to be just and right than sue for their
granting it as an indulgence. I am satisfied
that if, instead of deferring to them so much as
we have done in the case of Kedah, we had
maintained a higher tone and declared the
country to be under our protection , they would
have hesitated to invade that unfortunate terri-
tory. Having, however, been allowed to
indulge their rapacity in this instance with
impunity, they are encouraged to similar acts
towards the other States of the peninsula, and,
if not timely checked, may be expected in a
similar manner to destroy the truly respectable
State of Tringanu, on the eastern side of the
peninsula." Raffles went or, to suggest that
the blockade of the Menam river, which could
at any time be effected by the cruisers from
Singapore, would always bring the Siamese to
terms as far as concerned the Malay States^

The wise words of the founder of Singapore
had little influence on the prejudiced minds of
the authorities in India and at home. They dis-
liked the idea of additional responsibility in this
region, and they adopted the line of the least
resistance, which was the conclusion of a treaty
with Siam accepting the conquest of Kedah as
an accomplished fact and compromising other
disputed points.

The treaty, which was concluded on June 20,
1826, provided, inter alia, for unrestricted trade
between the contracting parties " in the English
countries of Prince of Wales Island, Malacca,
and Singapore, and the Siamese countries of
Ligore, Merdilons,Singora,Patani,Junk Ceylon,
Quedah, and other Siamese provinces ; " that the
Siamese should not " obstruct or interrupt com-
merce in the States of Tringanu and Calan-
tan"; that Kedah should remain in Siamese
occupation ; and that the Raja of Perak should
govern his country according to his own will,
and should send gold and silver flowers to
Siam as heretofore, if he desired so to do.
Practically the effect of the treaty was to con-
firm the Siamese in the possession of an

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

97

enormous tract of country over which their hold
would, in other circumstances, have been of a
very precarious character, and supplythem with
an excuse for further aggression at a later period.
The shortcomings of the arrangement were
recognised at the time by the most experienced
of the Straits administrators, but the full realisa-
tion of the nature of the blunder committed in
giving the aggressive little people from the
North a substantial stake in the peninsula was
left to a later generation of officials, who were
to find the natural expansion of British influence
checked by claims arising out of this Treaty of
Bangkok of 1826,

CHAPTER VIII.

Anarchy in the States-
Intervention.

-British

For a considerable period following the com-
pletion of this compact between Great Britain
and Siam the course of events in the Malay
Peninsula ceased to engage the active attention
of British officials in the Straits. The expedi-
tion to Naning, described in the Malacca section,
was the one exception to the rule of inactivity,
and that was but a local and passing episode
which did not touch the larger question of con-
trol in the peninsula, since Naning had long
been regarded as an essential part of the Malacca
territory. The abstention from interference was
due to a variety of reasons, but chiefly to the
indifference of the Indian authorities to the
interests which centred in the Straits. The dis-
tance of the area from the seat of government
prevented that intimate knowledge of the
country which was essential to a proper
handUng of the difficult and delicate problems
arising out of the position of the Malay chiefs,
and, moreover, there was no apparent compen-
sation to be gained for thrusting a hand into the
Asiatic wasps' nest which the region for gene-
rations had proved to be. Could the Supreme
Government have seen the Federated Malay
States as they are to-day — a marvellously
prosperous centre of industry, not only hand-
somely paying their way but acting as a feeder
to the trade of the established British settlements
— they would doubtless have acted differently.
But those things were in the lap of the gods.
All that was visible to the somewhat narrow
political intelligence of the Calcutta bureaucrats
was a welter of anarchical tribal despotism, out
of which nothing could come more tangible
than a heavy financial responsibility to the Com-
pany should it be rash enough to intervene. So,
forgetting the lessons inculcated by Raffles,
Marsden, and Anderson of the vast potentialities
of this region for trade, it was content to ignore
the existence of the Western Malay States save
on those occasions, not infrequent, when some
unusually daring act of piracy perpetrated by
the inhabitants aroused it to transient activity.

The indifference of the Government of the
Straits to affairs in the Malay States survived
for some years the authority of the Govern-
ment of India in the settlements. The Govern-
ment at home sternly discountenanced any
exercise of authority beyond the limits of
British territory, and knowing this, the local

officials turned a blind eye on events which
were passing across the border save when, as
has been said, flagrant acts of piracy committed
on British subjects galvanised them to spasmodic
action. This poHcy of masterly inactivity was
possible when the trade of the peninsula was
small and steam communication was little
developed in the Straits. But when the tin
mines of Larut became, as they did in the later
sixties, an important centre of Chinese industry
and a valuable trade flowed from them through
Pinang, the attitude of aloofness could not be
so easily maintained. The commercial com-
munity of Singapore and Pinang chafed under
the losses to which they were subjected by the
eternal warfare of the anarchical elements
which pervaded the Western States, and again
and again urged the Government in vain to
adopt a more energetic policy for the protection
of what even then was a valuable trade.
Matters at length got so bad that the Govern-
ment could no longer ignore their plain respon-
sibilities. The events which led up to interven-
tion may be briefly described. In 1871 a
daring act of piracy committed on a British
trading boat by Chinese and Selangor Malays
led to the bombardment by H.M.S. Rinaldo of
the forts at the mouth of the Selangor river.
The situation in Selangor itself at the time was
about as disturbed as it could possibly be. On
the one side was the brother-in-law of the
Sultan, a Kedah chief named Tunku Dia Oodin,
acting as a sort of viceroy under the authority
of the Sultan, a curious old fellow whose motto
seems to have been " Anything for a quiet life "
— his idea of quietude being freedom from
personal worry ; and on the other were the
Sultan's sons, who set themselves indefatigably
to thwart the constituted authority at every
turn. Three of these sons, the Rajas Mahdie,
Syed Mashoor, and Mahmud, were mixed up in
the act of piracy which led to the bombardment
of the Selangor forts, and the British Govern-
ment preferred a demand to the Sultan for
their surrender, and at the same time an-
nounced that they would support Tunku Dia
Oodin. For some reason the demand was not
pressed, and the three lively young princelets,
with other disaffected members of the royal
house, threw themselves heart and soul into
the congenial task of making government by
Tunku impossible. In July, 1872, a number of
influential traders at Malacca petitioned the
Singapore Chamber of Commerce to take up
the question of the disturbances in Selangor.
They represented that on the faith of the
Government assurances- of support to Tunku,
and with full confidence in his administration,
they had invested large sums of money in the
trade of Selangor, more particularly in the tin
mines. The Singapore Chamber sent the
petition on to Government, and elicited a reply
to the eff'ect that every endeavour was being
made to induce the chiefs to submit to the
authority of the Sultan and his viceroy, but
that it was the policy of the Government " not
to interfere in the affairs of those countries
unless (sic) where it becomes necessary for the
suppression of piracy or the punishment of
aggression on our people or territories ; but
that if traders, prompted by the prospect of
large gains, choose to run the risk of placing
their persons and property in the jeopardy

which they are aware attends them in this
country, under these circumstances it is im-
possible for Government to be answerable for
their protection or that of their property.'' The
Singapore Chamber sent a respectful protest
against the views enunciated in this communi-
cation. They urged that the Malacca traders
had made out a just claim for the interference
of the British Government for the " punishment
of aggression on our people," and that even if
the Malacca traders had been induced solely by
" prospects of large gains " to run considerable
risks, that alone would not warrant the Govern-
ment in refusing its protection. Finally the
Chamber, while deprecating any recourse to
coercive measures, urged upon the Government
"the absolute necessity of adopting some
straightforward and well defined policy in
dealing with the rulers of the various States of
the Malay Peninsula, for the purpose of pro-
moting and protecting commercial relations
with their respective provinces, as there is every
reason to believe they would readily accept the
impartial views and friendly advice of the British
authorities."

Somewhat earlier than the date of this
Malacca petition — in the month of April — the
Governor, Sir Harry Ord, had been induced by
the news which reached him of the disturbed
conditions on the peninsula to despatch the
Auditor-General, Mr. C. J. Irving, who had
warmly supported the cause of Tunku Dia
Oodin, to the Klang and Selangor rivers to
ascertain exactly what was the condition of
affairs, and whether it was likely that any
arrangement could be come to between Tunku
and those Rajas, especiafly Mahdie, Syed
Mashoor, and Mahmud, who were still holding
out against his and the Sultan's authority. Mr,
Irving brought back word that Tunku Dia
Oodin had practical possession of both the
Selangor and Klang rivers, and possessed
communications with the Bernam river on the
north and the Langat river on the south, on
which latter the Sultan resided, and were thus
enabled to send down to the coast, though not
without difficulty, the tin raised in the interior,
and with it to obtain supplies of arms and food.
Constant warfare prevailed between the two
parties, and there were repeated attacks and
captures of posts in which neither party seemed
to gain any great advantage. Raja Mahdie
was then out of the country trying to organise
a force with which to return to the attack.
Tunku Dia Oodin expressed himself ready to
make any arrangement by which peace could
be restored to the country. He had, he said,
put the Sultan's sons in charge of the Selangor
river, but partly through weakness and partly
through treachery they had played into the
hands of his enemies, and he had been com-
pelled to displace them. He endeavoured to
interfere as little as possible with the trade of
the country, but so long as the rebel Rajas
could send out of it the tin and get back in re-
turn supplies, so long would the war continue ;
and with the view of putting a stop to this he
had been compelled to enforce a strict blockade
of the two rivers, which was naturally giving
great offence to those merchants who had
made advances on behalf of the tin.

After completing his inquiries at Selangor,
Mr. Irving proceeded to Larut, in Perak, where

98

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

serious disturbances threatening the trade of
the country with Pinang had brolcen out. He
found the state of affairs quite as bad as it had
been represented to the Government at Singa-
pore. On the death of the Sultan of Peralc,
his son, the Raja Muda, should in the natural
course~of events have succeeded his father, but
he, having given great offence to a number of
chiefs by absenting himself from the funeral
ceremonies, was superseded by another high
official, the Bendahara, who had, with the chiefs'
consent, assumed the sultanship. Each party
appealed to the Government for countenance
and support, and was informed that the British
authorities could not interfere in any way in the
internal affairs of the country, but that as soon
as the chiefs and great men had determined
who, according to their native customs, was the
proper successor to the Sultan, the Government
would be happy to recognise him. Mr. Irving
saw the Raja Muda, but not the Bendahara, who
made excuses to avoid meeting" him. He was
of opinion that the Raja Muda had stronger
claims, but owing to his being an opium
smoker and a debauchee he had no great
following nor much influence with the people.
Mr. Irving strongly urged on the three Rajas
and their chiefs the importance of a peaceful set-
tlement of their differences, and suggested that
there should be a meeting of all the great chiefs
to determine the question of the succession.
He added that he would wiih pleasure send
an officer of rank to be present at their delibera-
tion and to communicate their selection, which
they might rest assured would be accepted by
the British Government. Mr. Irving returned
to Singapore on April 29, and on May 3rd he
went back again with letters from the Governor
strongly impressing on the disputants the ex-
pediency of settling their differences in the
way that had been suggested. He found the
Raja Muda willing to accede to the proposal,
but not the Bendahara and his adviser, the
Raja of Larut.

Such was the position at Perak. At Larut,
where thousands of Chinese were employed
upon the mines, serious faction fights had
broken out amongst these people earlier in the
year, with the result of the victory of one party
and the driving away of the vanquished. It
was hoped that matters had quieted down, but
in October the faction fight broke out afresh
with renewed violence. The defeated party,
having obtained assistance, largely from
Pinang, attacked their former opponents, and
after a severe struggle succeeded in driving
them from the mines, of which they took
possession.

Meanwhile, matters in Selangor were going
from bad to worse. When Raja Mahdie
escaped from Johore he made his way up the
Linggi river, which forms the northern
boundary of Malacca, and with the connivance
of the chief of a small territory called Sungei
Ujong (one of the Negri Sambilan States),
through which the northern branch of the
river runs, he made his way to the interior of
Selangor and joined his brother rebel chiefs.
Although bringing neither men nor arms, his
mere presence seems to have acted strongly on
his party, and the result was a series of attacks
on Tunku Dia Oodin, ending in the recapture
of the forts at the mouth of the Selangor river.

which gave them the entire possession of that
river, and later of two forts on the upper part
of the Klang river. Tunku Dia Oodin, being
now hard pressed, applied for assistance to
the Bendahara of Pahang, with the assent of
the British authorities. But before this could
reach him Tunku, irritated with the favour
shown to Mahdie by the chief of Sungei Ujong,
prevailed on the chief of Rembau, another of
the Negri Sambilan group of States, to reassert
some old claim which he had to a place called
Sempang in Sungei Ujong, and on the banks
of the Linggi river, which communicates in
the interior with the Langat, Klang, and Selan-
gor rivers. As the immediate effect of this
would have been to prevent the Sungei Ujong
people from getting in their supplies or getting
out their tin, they immediately applied to the
Straits Government for protection, offering to
hand their country over to the British Govern-
ment if they would accept it. Thinking that
his interference might tend to bring about
some arrangement of the matter, Sir Harry
Ord sent his Colonial Secretary to the chief of
Rembau, and this individual, on being seen, at
once expressed his willingness to leave in the
Governor's hands the entire settlement of his
difference with Sungei Ujong. The Sungei
Ujong chief being equally ready to accept the
proposal. Sir Harry Ord proceeded on October
29th to Sempang, where he met the chief of
Sungei Ujong but not the Rembau chief, who
appears to have mistaken the day of meeting.
As Sir Harry Ord had an appointment "with
the Sultan of Selangor on the next day but one,
and the day after was the Ramazan festival, on
which no business could be done, it was im-
possible for him to wait, and he conducted
his inquiries in the absence of the Rembau
chief. He was glad to find, after discussing
matters with the Tunku and the chief of
Sungei Ujong, that the latter stated that he
would do all in his power to prevent any
assistance whatever from reaching Tunku's
enemies. With this assurance Tunku expressed
himself satisfied, and the idea of his occupying
the Sungei river was allowed to drop. On
leaving Sungei Sir Harry Ord proceeded to
Langat to meet the Sultan of Selangor. He
was accompanied by Tunku, and knowing that
Mahdie was in the neighbourhood and that
some of the Sultan's people and relatives were
ill-affected towards Tunku, he deemed it pru-
dent to ask to be accompanied by the armed
boats of H.M.S. Zebra and a small escort of
the 88th Regiment. Before landing he had a
long interview with Tunku Dia Oodin. He
pointed out to him the apparently precarious
nature of his position, and that although he
had the nominal support of the Sultan and was
well backed up by people who were satisfied
of his ultimate success, yet that he had immense
difficulties to contend with in the open hostility
of the rebel chiefs and lukewarmness, if not
treachery, of the Sultan's sons. Sir Harry sug-
gested that if he did not feel very sanguine of
success it would be better for him to retire
from the contest while he could do so with-
out loss or disgrace, and that if he decided
on this he (Sir Harry) would, in his inter-
view with the Sultan, pave the way for his
doing so in an honourable and satisfactory
manner. Tunku Dia Oodin, while acknow-

ledging the justice of much that Sir Harry
Ord had said, stated that he did not con-
sider his situation desperate so long as he
had the prospect of the aid that had been
promised him from Pahang. Tunku admitted,
however, that this was his last chance, and
offered to hand back to the Sultan the authority
that had been given him on being reimbursed
the expenses he had been put to in endeavouring
to carry it out. Sir Harry Ord did not think it
necessary to accept this offer, and was glad
to find in his interview with the Sultan that
individual expressed the utmost confidence in
Tunku. The complaints about the blockade
were abandoned on Tunku's explanation of the
difficulties which compelled him to take this
step. At Sir Harry Ord's suggestion it was
agreed that any future difficulties should be
left for adjustment between Tunku and Raja
Yacoof, the Sultan's youngest and favourite
son.

Sir Harry Ord hoped rather than expected
that in the arrangement he had made he had
advanced a good step towards adjusting the diffi-
culties which had for so long a period existed
in Selangor. But he had not taken sufficient
account of the strength of the elements of dis-
order which were in active being all over
the peninsula. Before very long the position
changed materially for the worse. The
assistance asked of the Bendahara of Pahang
by Tunku Dia Oodin was duly forthcoming,
and with its aid the tide was soon turned in
Tunku's favour once more. One after another
the " rebel " forts were captured, and finally,
after a long blockade, Kuala Lumpor, the chief
town of the State, now the flourishing head-
quarters of the Federation, fell into Tunku's
hands. The advantage was somewhat dearly
purchased, for the intrusion of the Pahang force
introduced a fresh disturbing factor into this
truly distressful land.

In October, 1873, Sir Harry Ord left for
England, bearing with him a vivid impression
of the increasing gravity of the situation which
he left behind him. Some little time earUer
he had forwarded home a suggestive memorial,
signed by practically every leading Chinese
merchant in the Straits, representing the
lamentable condition into which the Malay
States had been allowed to fall, and imploring
the Government to give their attention to the
matter. As evidence of the overwhelming
desire there was at the period for British
intervention on the part of the peaceful native
community, the document is of great interest.
But perhaps its chief value to-day lies in its
impartial testimony to the beneficent fruits of
British rule. After drawing a lurid picture
of the anarchy which everywhere prevailed,
the memorialists contrasted the condition of
the disturbed country with that of Johore :
" As an example of what the moral influence
of Great Britain can effect in a native State we
would point to the neighbouring territory of
Johore, whose prosperous and peaceful con-
dition and steady progress is due as well to the
liberality and foresight of its present ruler as
to the English influences which have of late
years been brought to bear upon the Maha-
raja's rule. This territory we are informed
from the highest authority contains some
seventy thousand Chinese, amongst whom are

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

99

twenty or thirty Chinese traders, who are
possessed of property and capital valued at from
twenty thousand to thirty thousand dollars.

" Your Excellency will thus see that the above
circumstances have so restricted the field for
trade round the British settlements in these
waters that it becomes necessary for us to seek
elsewhere openings for commerce, and our eyes
anxiously turn to the Malayan Peninsula, which
affords the finest field for the enterprise of
British subjects, and from whence we may
hope to reinvigorate that commercial pros-
perity which our industry has hitherto secured
for us.

" In former days it was the duty of the
Governors and Resident Councillors of the
settlements to maintain intimate relations with
the States of the peninsula. If complaints
were made of misconduct on the part of the
native chiefs or any of their headmen, or
of outrages committed by them on the legiti-
mate trader, an investigation was ordered and
redress afforded. B\- a constant attention
to the state of affairs in these territories, and
by the rendering of advice and assistance
in their regulation, the officials of Government
obtained such an influence over the native rulers
as to be enabled without the use of force
to insure the security of the trader and the
order of the country."

The policy pursued by the Government of
the day might, the petitioners said, be in
accordance with the view which European
Governments took of their responsibilities to
each other, but " its application to the half
civilised States of the Malay Peninsula (whose
inhabitants are as ignorant as children) is
to assume an amount of knowledge of the
world and an appreciation of the elements of
law and justice which will not exist amongst
those Governments until your petitioners and
their descendants of several generations have
passed away." The memorialists concluded :
" We ask for no privileges or monopolies ;
all vire pray of our most gracious Queen is
that she will protect us when engaged in
honest occupations, that she will continue
to make the privilege of being one of her
subjects the greatest that we can enjoy,
and that by the counsel, advice, and enter-
prise of her representative in this colony, she
will restore peace and order again in those
States, so long connected with her country,
not only by treaty engagements but by filial
attachment, but which, in consequence of the
policy now pursued towards them, are rapidly
returning to their original state of lawlessness
and barbarism."

It was impossible for the Home Government
to ignore a memorial couched in such pointed
language without doing grave injury to British
prestige, not merely in the Straits Settlements
but throughout the Far East. Accordingly,
when at the close of 1873 Major-General Sir
Andrew Clarke, R.E , went out as Sir Harry
Ord's successor, he took with him definite
instructions from Lord Kimberley to make
a new and important departure in the policy
of deaUng with the Malay States. In a letter
dated September 20, 1873, in which acknow-
ledgment of the receipt of the petition of the
Chinese traders is made. Lord Kimberley
wrote :

" Her Majesty's Government have, it need
hardly be said, no desire to interfere in the
internal affairs of the Malay States. But look-
ing to the long and intimate connection between
them and the British Government, as shown
in the treaties which have at various times been
concluded with them, and to the well-being
of the British settlements themselves, her
Majesty's Government feel it incumbent upon
them to employ such influence as they possess
with the native Princes to rescue, if possible,
these fertile and productive countries from the
ruin which must befall them if the present
disorders continue unchecked.

" I have to request that you will carefully
ascertain, as far as you are able, the actual
condition of affairs in each State, and that you
will report to me whether there are, in your
opinion, any steps which can properly be
taken by the Colonial Government to promote
the restoration of peace and order and to
secure protection to trade and commerce with

LIEUT.-GEN. SIE ANDREW CLABKE.,

the native territories. I should wish you espe-
cially to consider whether it would be advisable
to appoint a British officer to reside in any of
the States. Such an appointment could, of
course, only be made with the full consent
of the native Government, and the expenses
connected with it would have to be defrayed
by the Government of the Straits Settlements."
Sir Andrew Clarke's responsibilities were
enormously lightened by these instructions,
which practically conceded the principle for
which traders and ofBcials alike in the Straits
had been pleading for many years. But the
situation he had to face when he reached
Singapore on November 4, 1873, was not of a
character to inspire a hopeful feeling. In the
weeks preceding his arrival the troubles all
round had increased in seriousness. The chief
storm centre was Larut. As has been briefly
noted, the country was the battle-ground of
two Chinese factions — the See Kwans (or four
district men) and the Go Kwans (or five

district men). These men, from different parts
of China, were traditionally at enmity, but their
feud had blazed into stronger flame owing to
the absence of any controlling authority in the
disturbed area, For a proper understanding
of the position we may with advantage quote
from a memorandum drawn up by Mr. Irving,
the Auditor-General, a survey of the history of
Larut anterior to these events. In the reign
of a previous Sultan, Jafaar of Perak, there
was a trader of considerable importance at
Bukit Gantang, several miles beyond the tin
mines, of the name of Inchi Long Jafaar. This
individual was placed by the Sultan in charge
of a district, which was then limited to the
river and the mines, without any title, and in
this oiBce he probably received all the revenues
of Larut. Each successive Sultan confirmed
the appointment on attaining to power, and
when Inchi Jafaar died, his brother Inchi
Nghar Lamat succeeded him. In turn Inchi
Nghar was succeeded by Nghar Ibrahim.
Before this last-named personage attained to
power the long protracted feud of the Chinese
factions had broken out. The first attack was
made by the Cheng Sia (or Go Kwans) upon the
Wee Chew (or See Kwans), and the latter came
off victorious. Nghar Ibrahim appears to have
sided with the victorious party, and it is
certain that he dated his rise in fortune from
this point. One of the leaders of the defeated
party, a British subject, complained to the
Resident Councillor of Pinang of the loss he
had suffered. This resulted in two visits to
Perak of a man-of-war carrying letters from
Governor Cavenagh with a demand (enforced
by a blockade of the river Larut) for an indem-
nity amounting to 17,447 dollars to recoup the
defeated party the injury done. The Sultan
treated the indemnity as a forfeiture due from
Nghar Ibrahim. He, moreover, confirmed
the government of Larut upon Nghar Ibrahim.
This appointment was apparently in considera-
tion of his having found the indemnity money.
The Sultan soon afterwards promoted Nghar
Ibrahim to the high office of Orang Kaya
Mantri of Perak, one of the Mantri Ampat or
four chief officers, and before long he was
acknowledged to be practically the indepen-
dent ruler of Larut, including a district
between the river Krian on the north and the
river Bruas on the south. The Laksamana's
name seems to have been added merely to
give weight to the appointment ; he had never
held authority in Larut. From that period
until 1872 the Mantri enjoyed all the royalties
and other revenues of the country. These had
much increased with the growth of the
Chinese population, whose numbers at the close
of 1871 amounted to forty thousand, while the
imports that year into Pinang of tin, the
greater part of which came from Larut,
amounted to 1,276,518 dollars. Circumstances,
however, had already occurred to show that he
was losing his control over the miners ; and
when, in February, 1872, disturbances com-
menced between the two factions, he was
practically powerless. As has been stated, the
fighting resulted in the complete defeat of the
Go Kwan party and their expulsion from the
country. With August, 1872, opened the
second stage of the Larut disturbances. On
August 27th the Mantri addressed a letter to

100

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSI(3NS OF BRITISH MALAYA

the Lieutenant-Governor of Pinang (Mr. Camp-
bell), in which he made bitter complaints of
" the trouble that had now befallen him." He
asserted that the Go Kwans were collecting to
attack him, and that many of his relatives were
siding with them. On the 6th of September
the Lieutenant-Governor, in forwarding papers
on the subject, reported that he feared there
was much bad feeling abroad, as evidenced by
the attempt made a few days before to stab Ho
Gie Slew, the chief of the victorious See Kwan
faction. Later in the same month, on the 28th,
Too Tye Sin, one of the principal Chinese in
Pinang, forwarded a petition signed by forty-
four Chinese traders directly accusing the
Mantri of having assented to the proceedings
of the See Kwans, and claiming protection
from the Government. This seems to have
been designed as an announcement of their
intention to recommence hostilities. It was
followed, at all events, on the i6th of October
by the departure from Pinang of a large junk
manned with one hundred Chinese and armed
with twelve 4-pounder guns. In anticipation of
fighting, the Lieutenant-Governor proceeded
in H.M.S. Nassau to Larut. He returned to
Pinang on the i8th. The Governor, in com-
menting on his proceedings, observed that he
should have required the junks to desist from
their illegal proceedings, which were in
contravention of the provisions of the Penal
Code. In consequence of this a proclamation
was issued in Pinang citing the sections of
the Code bearing upon the matter. But the
mischief had then been done. The two
factions were engaged in a deadly fight, and,
thanks to the assistance from Pinang, the See
Kwans were ousted from the mines. With
them went the Mantri, who had got into bad
odour with both parties.

Meanwhile, affairs along the coast had
assumed a condition of such gravity as to
necessitate the adoption of special measures by
the British authorities. Early in August, owing
to attacks on boats and junks near Province
Wellesley, H.M.S. Midge had been sent to
patrol that part of the straits. Some piratical
craft were captured, but the force available
was too small to cope with the marauders, who
skilfully and successfully evaded the man-of-
war's boats by sending their larger vessels to
sea and concealing their war boats and prahus
in the numerous creeks along the sea-board.
On September i6th the Midge's boat, while
proceeding up the Larut river, was fired upon
by the faction opposing the Mantri, who held
the banks. The fire was briskly returned, but
owing to the native pilot bolting below on the
firing of the first shot, the boat got ashore and
the position of the inmates was for a time one
of some danger. It was got off eventually, but
not before two officers had been seriously
wounded. In consequence of this outrage
Captain Woolcombe, the senior naval officer on
the station, proceeded in H.M.S. Thalia to the
Larut river, and on the 20th of September an
attack was made under his direction upon the
enemy's position. The stockade was carried
in a brilliant manner, and three junks form-
ing part of the defences were also captured.
Having dismounted all the guns and spiked
them, and thrown the small arms found in the
stockade into the river, Captain Woolcombe

burnt the junks. Afterwards he directed his
forces against another stockade further up the
river. By this time the enemy had lost their
zest for the fight, and the British contingent
met with little further opposition. The punish-
ment administered had a great moral effect on
the piratical faction. From three thousand to
four thousand of the See Kwaris there and
then tendered their submission, and there can
be no doubt that if the success had been
followed up an end would have been made to
the struggle which had for so long a period
raged in the district. As things were, the
fighting continued in a desultory fashion for
some time longer, a hand being taken in the
later phases by Captain T. C. Speedy, who
had resigned his post as Port-Officer of
Pinang to assist the Mantri with a specially
recruited force of Indians.

Sir Andrew Clarke's first business on taking
up the reins of government was to thoroughly
acquaint himself with the situation in all its
aspects. He was not long in coming to the
conclusion that the anarchy must be stopped

MR. W. A. PICKERING.

by the action of the Government, but as to
what that action should be he was not quite
clear. A proposal to invoke the intervention
of the Malay rulers was rejected as absolutely
hopeless, and a suggestion that the Chinese
Government should be asked to send a man-
darin to play the part of mediator was found
equally objectionable. Direct intervention
appeared to be also out of the question because
the Government was suspect owing to its
having favoured one party. Eventually, as a
last resource Sir Andrew Clarke empowered
Mr. W. A. Pickering, an able official who
had charge of Chinese affairs at Singapore, to
seek out the headmen and sound them infor-
mally as to whether they would accept the
Governor as an arbitrator in their quarrel.
Such was Mr. Pickering's influence over the
Chinese and their trust in his integrity, that
he had little difficulty in persuading them to
submit their dispute to Sir Andrew Clarke for
adjustment. This important point gained. Sir
Andrew Clarke lost no time in taking action.

He immediately issued invitations to the Perak
chiefs and the Chinese headmen to a con-
ference, which he fixed for January 14th at the
Bindings. Arriving at the rendezvous on the
13th, the Governor had several interviews with
the chiefs, separately and together. He was
agreeably surprised to find the Raja Muda a
man of considerable intelligence, and possess-
ing perfect confidence in his ability to maintain
his position if once placed in Perak as its
legitimate ruler. All the chiefs except the
Mantri of Larut were prepared at once to
receive him as their sovereign. Therefore, at
the final meeting on the 20th of January, Sir
Andrew Clarke announced his intention to
support the Raja Muda. As regards the
Chinese disputants, an arrangement was come
to under which the leaders of both factions
pledged themselves under a penalty of 50,000
dollars to keep the peace towards each other
and towards the Malays and to complete the
disarmament of their stockades. A commission
of three officers was appointed to settle the
question of the right to the mines and to
endeavour to discover and release a number of
women and children held captive by the
victorious party.

As an outcome of the conference we have
the Treaty of Pangkor of June 20, 1874, giving
force to the arrangements already detailed as
to the Dindings and Province Wellesley, and
containing these important provisions :

"That the Sultan receive and provide a
suitable residence for a British officer, to be
called Resident, who shall be accredited to his
Court, and whose advice must be asked and
acted upon in all questions other than those
touching Malay religion and custom.

"That the collection and control of all
revenues and the general adminish-ation of
the country be regulated under the advice of
these Residents."

Thus at one stroke the British Government,
for good or for evil, was committed to that
active intervention in Malay affairs from which
it had shrunk with almost morbid dislike for a
century. It was not without trepidation that
Sir Andrew Clarke reported what he had done
to the Colonial Secretary. " I am perfectly
aware," he wrote, " that I have acted beyond
my instructions, and that nothing but very
urgent circumstances would justify the step I
have taken, but I have every confidence that
her Majesty's Government will feel that the
circumstances at the time — the utter stoppage
of all trade, the daily loss of lite by the
piratical attacks on even peaceful traders and
by the fighting of the factions themselves, and
the imminent peril of the disturbances ex-
tending to the Chinese in our own settlement —
justified me in assuming the responsibility I
have taken." The Governor did not lack
backing at this important juncture. The Straits
Settlements Association addressed a communi-
cation to the Colonial Secretary on March 6,
1874, expressing entire satisfaction with the
proceedings and intimating that they con-
sidered the negotiations so successfully carried
out by Sir Andrew Clarke as constituting " the
most important step that has for many years
been taken by the British Government in the
Straits of Malacca " — for they were not only
valuable in themselves, but involved principles

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

101

" capable of a wide and beneficent extension in
the neighbouring territories."

It now remained to give effect to ' tlie
arrangements whicli Sir Andrew Clarlie had
made under cover of the general instructions
given to him by Lord Kimberley. The task
was not an easy one, for the country had been
so long under the domination of the fomenters
of disorder that it was diflicult for a mere
handful of Englishmen, backed by no physical
force, or very little, to win it over to the paths
of peace. However, the Commissioners, three

women and children, and finally crossed the
defile between the Larut and Perak valleys,
reached the bank of the Perak river at Kuala
Kangsn, secured a country boat, and in her
paddled a hundred miles down the Perak
river to the village of Sultan Abdullah, where
they found their steamer and returned to
Pinang, having completely accomplished their
mission."

About the same period as the Commission
was prosecuting its investigations a portion of
the China Fleet, under the Admiral, Sir Charles

the Sultan's village in his yacht and invited the
chief to visit him to talk matters over. The old
fellow obeyed the summons, and proved a
most interesting, and, in some respects, enter-
taining guest. Mr. Irving, who saw him at the
time, described him as "an elderly-looking
gentleman of fifty or sixt\' years of age, an
opium-smoker, but not to excess, having his
senses perfectly about him, and quite able to
manage his affairs if he pleased ; but from
indolence he had got into the habit of not
himself interfering so long as he was left at

A GROUP OP BRITISH OFFICIALS WHO WERE CONCERNED IN ENFORCING THE PROVISIONS OP THE TREATY OP
PANGKOB, BY WHICH THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES CAME UNDER BRITISH PROTECTION.

(The photo was taken at Paiigkor, in the Dindings.)

Sir Wm, Drummond Jervois, the Governor of the Straits Settlements, is seated in the middle of the group. Standing on his left, with his hand upon a sword, is Mr. J. W. Birch,
the first British Resident of Perak, who was murdered in 1875 ; while the youthful figure leaning upon the banister on the extreme right of the picture is Mr. (afterwards
Sir) Frank Swettenham. On the Governor's immediate right is Lieut, (now Sir) Henry McCallum, then Assistant Colonial Engineer of the Straits Settlements, and next to
him is Captain Innes, R.E., who was killed at the attack on the stockade at Pasir Salak in 1875. The tall bearded ofiicer standing upon the steps is Captain Speedy,
of .\byssinia fame.

British officials and a Chinaman, the head of
the See Kwan faction, embarked upon their
duties with a resolute determination to succeed,
if success were possible. Sir Frank Swetten-
ham, who was one of the trio of officials,
gives in his book a moving picture of the
obstacles encountered by the Commissioners in
what were then the almost impenetrable vifilds
of Larut.- "The Commission," he says in
summarising their proceedings, " visited many
out-of-the-way places in the Larut, Krian, and
Selama districts, in search of the captive

Shadwell, was demonstrating off Selangor the
determination of the Government to suppress
once for all the ph-acy which was rife off that
coast. The incident which had led to this dis-
play of power was the pirating of a large
Malacca boat at the entrance of the Jugra
river, a tidal creek communicating with the
Langat river. The case was a bad one, and
it lost nothing of its gravity in the eyes of the
British authorities from the circumstance that
the Sultan's sons were implicated in it. Sir
Andrew Clarke went up the Langat river to

peace to enjoy himself in his own way — a rather
careless heathen philosopher, who showed his
character in one of the conversations on the
subject of piracy, when he said, " Oh ! those
are the affairs of the boys " (meaning his sons).
"I have nothing to do with them." Sir Frank
Swettenham knew the Sultan intimately, and
he gives a sketch of him which tallies with
this description. The Sultan was supposed, he
said, to have killed ninety -nine men with his
own hand, and he did not deny the imputa-
tion. He was " a spare, wizened man, with a

E *

102

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

kindly smile, fond of a good story, and with
a strong sense of humour. His amusements
were gardening (in which he sometimes
showed remarkable energy), hoarding money
and tin, of which he was supposed to have a
very large store buried under his house, and
smoking opium to excess."

Sir Andrew Clarke took the old fellow in
hand, and gave him a thoroughly undiplomatic
talking to on the disgraceful state of affairs in
his State. The Sultan, so far from resenting
this treatment, entered quite into the spirit of
the Governor's plans, and promised to do his
utmost to forward them. He was as good as
his word ; and when in due course the
prisoners had been tried by the Viceroy and
sentenced to death, he sent his own kris for
use at the execution. The episode had a most
salutary effect upon the pirates of the locality.
There was plenty of trouble afterwards in the
State itself, but piracy did not again raise its
head in a serious form. Meanwhile, affairs
were proceeding satisfactorily in I^arut. Mr,
Birch, the Colonial Secretary, who made a
tour of the area early in 1874, was greatly
impressed with all he saw. He found the
Resident busily engaged in laying out streets and
building lots, and was surprised to find many
respectable and substantial houses already
constructed. All around was an animated
scene of industry and good-fellowship, where
only a few weeks before there was nothing
but misery, ruin, and bloodshed. The road to
the mines, which had been given over to the
Go Kwan Chinese, was in very fair order for
carts along eight miles of its length, shops
were rapidly being opened, and large bodies
of men were engaged in reopening the mines.
Mr. Birch added these details, which are of
interest as an indication of the whole-hearted
way in which the settlement arranged b}' Sir
Andrew Clarke had been accepted :

" The See Kwan mines are situated about two
miles further, and here also a small township
was forming rapidly, and it is anticipated that a
few months hence this road also will be com-
pleted. The miners here are already at work,
and although a short time ago a deadly feud
of some years' duration existed between these
two factions, the See Kwan miners are now
to be seen daily bartering at the shops and
feeding at the eating-houses in the Go Kwan
town. The Chinese have already opened
gardens, and even in these few weeks a fair
supply of vegetables was available.

" The results of the tour may be considered
to be satisfactory. The greatest courtesy and
kindness were exhibited by the chiefs and in-
habitants of all the villages except Blanja ;
and in the interior a good deal of curiosity
was evinced by the natives, some of whom
had never seen a white man before. The
whole country traversed was at peace, and
there is reason to anticipate that the appoint-
ment of British Residents will foster the
feeling of security that now prevails, and thus
tend to develop the resources of the peninsula."

Unhappily, these sanguine expectations were
not realised ; but it was so generally believed
that the Residential principle would cure once
for all the grievous malady from which the
Malay States were suffering, that when, on
September 15, il<74, the Government of the

Straits Settlements had occasion to seek sanc-
tion for an expenditure of 54,000 dollars on
account of the expenses incurred in putting
the new arrangements into operation, the grant
was made by the Legislative Council with
unanimity, and even enthusiasm.

CHAPTER IX.

The Development of the Residential
System — Murder of Mr. Birch.

A\'hen the Residential system was introduced
into the Malay States by Sir .Andrew Clarke in
the circumstances described in the previous
chapter, it was hoped that at last a remedy had
been found for the misgovernment and anarchy
under which the country had been groaning
for generations. Neither the authorities on the
spot nor the Government at home had, how-
ever, made sufficient allowance for the tenacity
of the evil system which it was hoped to
obliterate by moral suasion exercised by a few
British officials. Too much reliance was prob-
ably placed on the successful working of the
Residential system in India. It was forgotten,
or at least overlooked, that the conditions under
which this form of supervision was exercised
in that country were totally different to those
existing in the Malay States. In India the
native chiefs had been accustomed by gene-
rations of usage to regard the British official
placed in their midst as an authoritative ex-
ponent of the views of the suzerain Power.
Experience, oftentimes bitter, had taught them
that it was useless to kick against the pricks,
and they knew that though an official might
be changed the system would exist, dislike it
as they might. Quite different was the position
in Malaya, where a sturdy race, with marked
independence of character, and with their
naturally pugnacious qualities sharpened by
generations of incessant strife, had to be
brought to the realisation of the existence of
a new influence which meant for many of
them the loss of much that went to make life,
if not enjoyable, at least interesting. It was
the old story of Britain trying to accomplish
a great work with inadequate means. The
Government wanted to bring the Malay States
under their control, and they foolishly, as it
seems to-day, as it ought to have appeared even
then, expected they could achieve the desired
result by simply placing their agents at par-
ticular points to direct the perverse Malay
character into the paths of peace rather than
into those of rapine and demoralising inter-
necine war. A rude awakening awaited the
authorities before the new arrangements had
been long in operation.

The new regime was ushered in by a pro-
clamation issued by Sir Andrew Clarke in
Xovember, 1874, announcing the introduction,
with the sanction of the Secretary for the
Colonies, of arrangements for the control of
the Malay States, and intimating that the
Government would hold those concerned to
the strict observance of their engagements.
At the same time the following appointments
were made public : Mr. J. W. Birch, Resident
of Perak on a salary of ^2,000 a year, with

Captain Speedy as Assistant-Resident at Larut
on ;£i,5oo a year ; Mr. J. G. Davidson, Resident
of Selangor (attending on the Viceroy Tunku
Dia Oodin) on £1,500 a year, with Mr. (after-
wards Sir) F. A. Swettenham as Assistant on
.£750 a year. Captain Tatham, R.A., was
appointed, as a temporary measure, Assistant-
Resident of Sungei Ujong. At the outset all
seemed fairly plain sailing. The Residents'
authority was outwardly respected, their advice
was listened to, and the revenue in Larut,
which under the Treaty was to be collected
by the British, was got in without trouble.
But beneath the surface there was a smoulder-
ing discontent ready to burst into flame, given
the proper amount of provocation. And the
provocation was not wanting. It was forth-
coming in numerous ways from the moment
that the British officials, with their notions of
equity and justice and their direct methods of
dealing, came into contact with the life of the
States. The collection of revenue in Larut
touched the Mantri on a raw spot, and the
Mantri was an influential personage whose ill-
will meant much in a situation such as that
which existed at the time. He was not alone
in his dissatisfaction at the turn of events.
Raja Ismail resented Abdullah's recognition
as Sultan, and the people generally sided with
him. Raja Yusuf was, if anything, more
inimical to the new regime. He did not even
trouble to conceal his intention to upset it if he
could. Sultan Abdullah himself fretted under
the chains which the new dispensation im-
posed upon his ill-regulated methods of what,
for want of a better term, we may call govern-
ment. While there was this disaffection
amongst the chiefs, there were influences in
operation disturbing the minds of the general
body of the population. Mr. Birch, with the
honest Briton's hatred of oppression, interested
himself energetically in the righting of wrongs,
of which Perak at that period furnished abun-
dant examples. One practice against which he
set his face resolutely was the custom of debt
slavery, under which individuals — even women
and children — were held in bondage to their
debtors for payments due. How this degrading
usage worked is well illustrated by a story told
by Captain Speedy in one of his early reports.
One day a Malay policeman asked him for the
loan of 25 dollars. On inquiring the reason
for this request, Captain Speedy was told that
the money was required to secure the libera-
tion of an aunt who was a slave debtor to a
man in a certain village. She had fallen into
slavery under the following circumstances.
Some six months previously the woman was
passing by a village when she met an acquain-
tance and stopped to converse with her. Taking
a stone from the roadside, the man's aunt
placed it on the pathway, and sat down to rest
meanwhile. When she departed she left the
stone on the path. About an hour afterwards
a child from the village came running along
the path, and her foot catching against the
stone, she fell, and slightly cut her forehead.
Inquiries were made as to how the stone came
in the path, and the fact of the aunt having
placed it there becoming known, she was
arrested, and sentenced to pay 25 dollars.
Being poor and totally unable to pay, she
and her children became, according to the

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF RRITISH MAI>AYA

103

Malay phrase, " bar-utang " — or slaves — to the
father of the child who had been hurt. Cap-
tain Speedy paid the fine, and secured the
release of the woman and her children, but
not without considerable difficulty. Such a
system, of course, was utterly subversive of .
all personal rights, but it was a usage which
had immemorial sanction amongst the Malays,
and they adhered to it with a tenacity charac-
teristic of a people who are deeply attached
to their national habits. Mr. Birch's efforts to
suppress it, persistently and resolutely prose-
cuted, were bitterly resented, and by none
more than by the chiefs, who were amongst
the worst offenders. The almost natural
results followed. " The chiefs of every grade,"
says Sir Frank Swettenham, " made common
cause against a Resident who scoured the
country, inquired into and pushed home their
evil deeds, and endeavoured to put a stop to
them. Therefore, some began to conspire to
compass his death or removal, and others
looked idly on, conscious of what was brew-
ing, but not anxious to take a hand if they
could avoid it. Only the poor and oppressed
recognised and were grateful for all the many
kindnesses they received from the Resident ;
for when he was not busy finding out all about
the country and its resources, or writing in-
structions and suggestions for its development
and administration, he was tending the sick or
giving generous help to those most in need of
it. Unfortunately, he did not speak Malay or
understand the customs and prejudices of the
people, and to this cause more than any other
his death must be attributed."

Before the circumstances under which Mr.
Birch was killed are narrated, it is necessary
to make a survey of the general position as it
existed in the months immediately preceding
the deplorable event. When Sir W. F. D.
Jervois arrived in Singapore as the successor
to Sir Andrew Clarke at the end of May,
187s, he found himself confronted with reports
from the Residents revealing a very unsatis-
factory state of affairs in the Malay States.
There was considerable unrest and an in-
creasing disposition on the part of the chiefs
to oppose the Residents. The new Governor
set himself to study very carefully the problem
with which it was obvious he would soon have
to deal — the problem of harmonising British
supervision of the States with a proper regard
for native rights and susceptibilities. He came
to the conclusion, after several months' investi-
gation, that it would be wise for him to examine
the situation on the spot, with the help of those
best in a position to give him advice and assis-
tance. Accordingly he proceeded to Perak,
interviewed Sultan Abdullah, Raja Ismael,
and Raja Yusuf, conferred with Mr. Birch
and Mr. Davidson, and then returned to Singa-
pore. The impression he obtained from his
journey was that the arrangements made by
his predecessor had broken down, and that a
change in methods was imperatively de-
manded. He therefore determined on his
own authority to make a new departure of a
rather striking kind. He decided to convert
the Residents into Commissioners, and to give
them with the new title a more tangible status
as advisers in the States. A proclamation em-
bodying the Governor's views was drawn up.

and the Sultan Abdullah was required to sign
documents accepting the new policy. He
resolutely declined for a time to do what was
required, but with the exercise of considerable
pressure, and after he had received not obscure
hints that he would be deposed if he did not
yield, he appended his signature. In adopting
the course he did Sir Wm. Jervois was doubtless
actuated by the best motives, but it must be
acknowledged that he took to himself an
astonishing amount of liberty, having regard
to the grave issues involved. At least it might
have been expected that he would have in-
formed the Government at home by cable of
the fact that he had been driven to inaugurate
changes. He, however, failed to do so, and
later, as we shall see, drew upon himself an
uncommon measure of rebuke for his inde-
pendent action.

When the proclamations had been fully
prepared, arrangements were made for their
distribution in the districts concerned as an
outward and visible token of the determination
of the Government to make their supervision
of the States a reality. Mr. Swettenham took

SIR WILLIAM JERVOIS.

with him from Singapore a bundle of the docu-
ments and handed them over to Mr. Birch at
Bandar Bharu. " I found him,'' writes the
gifted administrator (whose vivid narrative of
this tragic episode in the history of the Malay
States is the best account of the occurrences
extant) " suffering from a sprained ankle and
only able to walk with the help of crutches.
Lieut. Abbott, R.N., and four bluejackets were
with him, and on the night of my arrival the
sergeant-major of Mr. Birch's Indian guard
(about eighty Pathans, Sikhs, and Punjabis)
behaved so badly that he had to be confined
in the guard-room, while his men were in
a state bordering on mutiny.

" It was then arranged that I should go up
river to a village called Kota Lama, above
Kuala Kangsa, a village with the worst repute
in Perak, and distribute the proclamations in
the Upper Country, returning about the 3rd of
November to meet Mr. Birch at Pasir Salak,
the village of the Maharaja Lela, five miles
above Bandar Bharu. Mr. Birch, meanwhile,
was to go down river and distribute the pro-
clamations amongst Abdullah's adherents,

where no trouble was expected, and we were
to join forces at Pasir Siilak because the
Maharaja Lela was believed to have declared
that he would not take instructions from the
Resident, and it was known that he had built
himself a new house and had recently been
protecting it by a strong earthwork and
palisade. Therefore, if there was to be
trouble it would probably be there. What
was only disclosed long afterwards was that,
as soon as he had consented to the new
arrangement, Abdullah summoned his chiefs
(including the Maharaja Lela and the Dato'
Siigor, who lived at Kampong Gajah, on the
opposite bank of the river to Pasir Salak) and
told them that he had handed over the
government of the country to Mr. Birch. The
Maharaja Lela, however, said that he would
not accept any orders from the Resident, and
if Mr. Birch came to his Kampong he would
kill him. Asked whether he really intended
to keep his word, he replied that he certainly
meant it. The Dato' Sagor also said that he
was of one mind with the Maharaja Lela.
The meeting then broke up and the members
returned to their own villages. Later, when
the proclamations arrived, the Sultan again
sent for the chiefs, showed them the papers,
and asked what they thought of them. The
Laksamana said, ' Down here, in the lower
part of the river, we must accept them.' But
the Maharaja Lela said, ' In my Kampong, I
will not allow any white man to post these
proclamations. If they insist, there will cer-
tainly be a fight.' To this the Sultan and the
other chiefs said, 'Very well.' The Maharaja
Lela immediately left, and, having loaded his
boats with rice, returned up river to his own
Kampong."

Mr. Swettenham left Bandar Bharu at noon
on October 28th, and as he went up stream
Mr. Birch was proceeding down. The further
Mr. Swettenham went up the river the more
threatening became the talk. He, however,
posted his proclamations at various points
without encountering any overt act of hostility.
On November 4th, his work being done, he
started down river, intending to spend the night
at Blanja ; but on arriving there he was told that
Mr. Birch had been killed by the Maharaja
Lela's people at Pasir Salak on November 2nd.
The news induced him to continue his journey,
and though he had been informed that the river
had been staked at Pasir Salak with the object of
intercepting him, his boats passed that danger
point without being challenged. At daylight
the next morning he returned up the river to
Bandar Bharu and there and afterwards heard
the details of Mr. Birch's assassination.

He had done his work in the low country
more quickly than he expected, and reached
Pasir Salak at midnight on November 1st
with three boats, containing the Resident,
Lieut. Abbott, R.N., a guard of twelve Sikhs,
an orderly, a Malay interpreter, and a number
of boatmen. In all the party numbered about
forty men, and they had plenty of arms and
anununition. They anchored in midstream for
the night, and at daylight hauled to the bank,
when Mr. Abbott crossed to the other side of
the river to shoot snipe, and Mr. Birch sent a
message to the Maharaja Lela to say that he
would be glad to see him, either at the boats

104

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

or in his own house. To the interpreter who
carried the message the chief said, " I have
nothing to do with Mr. Birch."

" Some days earlier the Maharaja Lela
had summoned all his people and told them
that Mr. Birch would shortly come to Pasir
Salak, and if he attempted to post any notices
there the orders of the Sultan and the down-
river chiefs were that he should be killed. The
people replied that if those were the orders
they would carry them out, and the Maharaja
Lela then handed his sword to a man called
Pandak Indut, his father-in-law, and told the
people to take Pandak Indut's directions as
though they were his own. Directly Mr.
Birch arrived messengers were sent out to
collect the people, and, before the sun was hot,
there were already about seventy armed men
on the bank above Mr. Birch's boats. The
Dato' Sagor had come over from the other side
(in the boat which had taken Mr. Abbott
across), and he had seen and spoken to Mr.
Birch and was now with the Maharaja Lela.
By Mr. Birch's orders the interpreter posted a
proclamation on the shop of a Chinese gold-
smith, close to the bank, and this paper was
torn down by Pandak Indut and taken to
the Maharaja Lela, the occurrence being at the
same time reported to Mr. Birch. The crowd
on the bank were showing distinct signs of
restiveness ; but the boatmen began to make
fires to cook rice, and Mr. Birch went to take
his bath in a floating bath-house by the river
bank, his Sikh orderly standing at the door
with a loaded revolver. The interpreter was
putting up another copy of the proclamation
when Panduk Indut tore it down, and as the
interpreter remonstrated, Pandak Indut thrust
a spear into him and cried out, ' .^mok !
amok ! ' The crowd instantly rushed for the
bath-house, and attacked the boatmen and any
of the Resident's party within reach. Spears
were thrust through the bath-house, and Mr.
Birch sank into the river, coming to the surface
just below the bath-house, when he was im-
mediately slashed on the head with a sword
and was not seen again. Mr. Birch's Sikh
orderly had jumped into the river when the
first rush was made at the bath-house, and he
swam to a boat, taking great care to save the
revolver, which he had not fired, from getting
wet ! The interpreter struggled to the river,
and was helped into a boat by two of Mr.
Birch's Malays, but he died very shortly after-
wards. A Sikh and a Malay boatman were
also killed, and several of the others were
wounded ; but the rest with great difficulty got
away. Mr. Abbott, on the other bank, was
warned of what had occurred, and managed to
get a dugout and escape, running the fire from
both banks.

"Then the Maharaja Lela came out and asked
who were those who had actually had a hand
in the killing. Pandak Indut and the others at
once claimed credit for the deed, and the chief
ordered that only those who had struck blows
should share in the spoils. Then he said, ' Go
and tell the Laksamana I have killed Mr.
Birch.' The message was duly delivered, and
the Laksamana said, ' Very well, I will inform
the Sultan.' The same evening the Maharaja
Lela sent Mr. Birch's boat to Blanja, with the
letter to ex-Sultan Ismail describing what he

had done. Ismail was much too clever to keep
the boat, so he sent it back again. All the
arms and other property were removed to the
Maharaja Lela's house, and orders were given
to build stockades, to stake the river, and to
amok the Resident's station at Bandar Bharu.
The party sent on this last errand returned
without accomplishing their object ; for when
they got near the place it began to rain, and
the people in the house where they took shelter
told them that they would get a warm recep-
tion at Bandar Bliaru, and it would be quite
a different thing to murdering the Resident."

By the help of a friendly Malay, a foreigner,
Mr. Birch's body was recovered and buried at
Bandar Bharu on November 6th.

The news of Mr. Birch's assassination
speedily reached Singapore and created a pain-
ful sensation. There had often been trouble
with the Malays, but in the whole history of
British dealings with the race, from the time that
British power had become firmly established
in the Straits, there had never been previously
a case in which a leading official had been put
to death in the treacherous circumstances
which marked this incident. Sir William
Jervois took immediate steps to strengthen
the British forces in the disturbed area. A
detachment consisting of two officers and
60 men of the loth Regiment was sent
immediately from Pinang, and arrangements
were made for further reinforcements. The
Governor believed at the time that the murder
was an isolated incident which might be dealt
with without difficulty, and he cabled to the
Government at home in that sense. But he
was speedily disillusioned. The Pinang de-
tachment, reinforced by four bluejackets and a
small body of Sikhs, on attempting to carry
Pasir Salak, failed. Meanwhile ominous
rumours were daily coming in of serious
trouble in Selangor and the Negri Sambilan.
In the circumstances Sir Williain Jervois
deemed it wise to make a requisition on the
home Government for a considerable force
of white troops to overcome the disaffected
elements in the States and restore British
prestige. The demand seriously disturbed the
equanimity of the authorities in Downing
Street, whose natural dishke of " little wars "
in this instance was accentuated by a belief
that the trouble had been brought on by the
high-handed policy of the Governor. Lord
Carnarvon peremptorily cabled out for informa-
tion and wanted to know why a force of 1,500
bayonets, with artillery, 50 miles of telegraphic
apparatus, and a million of cartridges — the
specific requisition made — should be required
to deal with an " isolated outrage."

Sir William Jervois was absent from Singa-
pore directing the preparations for the sup-
pression of the disturbances when the message
arrived. Receiving no reply, the Secretary for
the Colonies telegraphed again in urgent terms,
intimating that the Government disapproved
altogether of the Governor's policy, and that
the troops which were being sent " must not
be employed for annexation or other political
objects." " Her Majesty's Government," the
message proceeded, " cannot adopt the prin-
ciple of the permanent retention of troops
in peninsula to maintain Residents or other
officers ; and unless natives are willing to

receive them on footing originally sanctioned
of simply advising the ruling authorities I
doubt whether their continuance in the country
can be sanctioned." Lord Carnarvon followed
this communication with a despatch by post
in which he referred severely to "the grave
errors of policy and of action" which had
marked the Governor's policy. Sir William
Jervois explained by cable that the large body
of troops asked for was required for the re-
assertion of British authority, and to prevent
the spread of the disturbances in adjoining dis-
tricts. At a later period Lord Carnarvon
again, and at much greater length, addressed
Sir William Jervois, the despatch being a
review of the latter's own despatch of October
l6th previously, in which he for the first time
described the new policy which he was in-
augurating. The Secretary for the Colonies
referred particularly to a passage in this
despatch in which the Governor said that
before his interviews with the chiefs he had
inclined to the opinion that the best course
to adopt would be to declare Perak British
territory ; but that on weighing well the im-
pressions conveyed by the interviews with the
chiefs, it did not appear to be expedient at
present that this course should be adopted,
and he had therefore determined, if the Sultan
could be induced to agree, to adopt the policy
of governing Perak by British oflicers in his
name. Commenting on this. Lord Carnarvon
acridly remarked that he did not know how
far this middle course differed from an as-
sumption of actual sovereignty, but what had
been done constituted " large and important
changes as to which you had no ground for
supposing that her Majesty's Government
would approve a very material departure from
the policy which had been previously sanc-
tioned as an experiment." It would, of course,
have been right and proper, if he were con-
vinced of the inefficacy of the existing
arrangements, if he had laid his proposals
before Government. But instead of doing
that he at once issued a proclamation which
altered the whole system of government and
affected in a more or less degree avast number
of individual interests, provoking apparently
the crisis with which they had now to contend.
The despatch suggested that if it had been
found necessary to introduce a change of
policy the telegraph ought to have been used.
" I am altogether unable to understand how
you came to omit this obvious duty," proceeded
Lord Carnarvon. " I can only conclude that,
being convinced of the soundness of your own
judgment, you acted in lamentable forgetful-
ness of the fact that you had no authority
whatever for what you were doing." Sir
William Jervois's reply to these strictures
cannot be described as con\incing. He argued
that he had not really changed the policy of
dealing with the States. The action he had
taken was, he said, merely a natural develop-
ment of the policy introduced by Sir Andrew
Clarke with the sanction of the Government.
With more force he maintained that the con-
dition of disorder into which the States had
fallen could not have been allowed to continue
without serious detriment to British interests
immediately, and possibly creating a situation
later vt-hich would menace the stability of the

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

105

British possessions themselves. Lord Carnar-
von, in aclcnowledging the despatch, reaffirmed
his views, and gave emphatic instructions that
no step affecting the political situation was to
be taken by the Straits Government pending
the consideration of the question of future
policy by the Home Government. On June i,
1876, Lord Carnarvon wrote sanctioning the
continuance of the Residential system, and
also approving the institution of Councils of
State in the protected States. The despatch
strongly insisted upon the exercise of caution
in the execution of this policy.

While this angry controversy was proceed-
ing a strong British force was operating in the
disturbed area. At quite an early stage in the
little campaign the local troops, reinforced by
a naval brigade, had wiped out the initial
failure at Pasir Salak, in which Captain Innes,
R.E., had been killed, and two officers of the
loth Regiment severely wounded, by carry-
ing the stockade at that point, and burning the
villages of the Maharaja Lela and the Dato'
Sagor. But the country by this time was
thoroughly aroused, and the expeditionary
force proved none too large for the work in
hand. The troops consisted of the 3rd (Buffs)
Regiment, 600 strong, 300 officers and men of
the 8oth Regiment, 200 officers and men of the
loth Regiment, a battery and half of Royal
Artillery, the 1st Gurkhas, 450 strong, and a
party of Bengal sappers numbering 80 men.
There was also a strong naval brigade, drawn
from H.M.'s ships Mocieste, Thistle, Philomel,
Ringdove, and Fly. The whole were under the
command of Major-General the Hon. F. Col-
borne, C.B., and Brigadier-General John Ross.
With the headquarters of the China troops
established at Bandar Bharu, and with the
Indian troops based at Kuala Kangsa, a series
of expeditions was organised against the dis-
affected Malays under the Maharaja Lela,
the Dato' Sagor, and the ex-Sultan Ismail.
Transport difficulties hampered the movements
of the troops considerably, but eventually the
Maharaja Lela was driven' across the border
into Kedah, and the country settled down.
Perak continued to be occupied by British
troops for some little time after the restoration
of peace. Their presence had a good effect in
convincing the natives that the old order had
been changed irrevocably, and when at length
they were replaced with a police force, the out-
look was perfectly peaceful. Meanwhile, how-
ever, the situation in the Negri Sambilan was
causing a good deal of anxiety. An attack on
a survey party, despatched from Sungei Ujong
across the border into Terachi, led up to a series
of military operations of a somewhat arduous
character. The Malays fought with determi-
nation, and it required a very considerable
force to dispose of them. They were ultimately
driven off, thanks to the courageous action of
Captain Channer, who, with a party of Gur-
khas, rushed a stockade which commanded the
rest of the position. For this gallantry Captain
Channer was awarded the Victoria Cross — a
decoration which he had richly earned, for his
act was not only a singularly brave one, but it
was the main factor in bringing to a successful
conclusion what might have been a long,
wearisome, and costly business.

On the termination of the military operations.

it only remained to mete out justice to those
who had been directly concerned in Mr.
Birch's assassination. Information collected
by a Commission specially appointed to in-
vestigate the troubles plainly pointed to the
Sultan Abdullah, the Mantri, the Dato' Laksa-
mana, and the Dato' Shabandar as the accom-
plices of the Maharaja Lela and Pandak Indut
in the crime. The four first mentioned were
all exiled to the Seychelles at a comparatively
early period of the investigation. The Maha-
raja Lela and others, after eluding pursuit for
several months, in July, 1876, gave themselves
up to the Maharaja of Johore, and by him
were handed over to the British authorities.
They were tried at Larut by a special tribunal
composed of Raja Yusuf and Raja Husein,
with Mr. Davidson and Mr. W. E. Maxwell as
British assessors. They were found guilty and
condemned to death. The Maharaja Lela,
the Dato' Sagar, and Pandak Indut were
executed. In the case of the other prisoners
the sentences were commuted to imprisonment
for life. Thus was a foul crime avenged. The
punishment, though severe, was necessary to

SIR W. C. F. ROBINSON.

bring home to the population of the Malay
States the determination of the British Govern-
ment to protect its officials, and the certainty
of retribution in cases in which injur}' was
done to them. Tlie Malays recognised the
substantial justice of the sentences. The more
influential of them took the view expressed by
the two Rajas in announcing their judgment —
that the accused had not only been guilty of
murder, but of treason, since they had taken
upon themselves to assassinate one who had
been invited to the State by the responsible
chiefs, and was in a sense the country's guest.
Politically the trial and its sequel had a great
and salutary influence throughout the penin-
sula. It was accepted as a sign that the
British Government now really meant to
assert itself, and would no longer tolerate
the conditions of misgovernment which had
for generations existed in the States. Opposi-
tion there continued to be for a good many
years, as was natural, having regard to the
Malay character, and the immensity of the
change which the new order made in
the national system of life. But there was
no overt act of hostility, and gradually, as the

benefits of peace and unhampered trade were
brought home to them in tangible fashion, the
inhabitants were completely won over to the
side of progressive administration. Thus Mr.
Birch, as Sir Frank Swettenham aptly says,
did not die in vain. " His death freed the
country from an abominable thraldom, and
was indirectly the means of bringing inde-
pendence, justice, and comfort to tens of
thousands of sorely oppressed people."

Lord Carnarvon's instructions that the Resi-
dential system was to be reintroduced with
caution were interpreted very literally by the
Singapore authorities. They dealt with crush-
ing severity with an official who seemed to
them to go a little beyond the strict letter of
his instructions. The offender was Captain
Douglas, the Resident of Selangor. In the
early part of 1878 a report was made to him
that Tunku Panglima, the Panghulu of Kau-
chong, near the entrance of the Jugra river, a
member of the Mixed Council on 50 dollars a
month, had offered a bribe of 40 dollars to
Mr. Newbrunner, the Collector and Magistrate
of the district, to influence him in a judicial
proceeding. Captain Douglas had the peccant
chief arrested, and subsequently ordered his
removal from the Council and the reduction of
his allowance by half to bring home to him
the enormity of his offence. The matter was
reported in due course to headquarters at
Singapore, with results little anticipated by the
Resident of Selangor. The Executive Council
same to the unanimous resolution that the
action of the Resident " was uncalled for and
extra vires, and that he should be instructed to
advise the Sultan to reinstate the Panglima
Raja as a member of Council." Not content
with this drastic measure. Sir W. C. F. Robinson,
who in 1877 had succeeded Sir William Jervois
as Governor on the tatter's appointment to
report on the defences of Australia, issued the
following "Instructions to Residents ': "His
Excellency desires that you should be reminded
that the Residents have been placed in the
native States as advisers and not as rulers, and
if they take upon themselves to disregard this
principle they will most assuredly be held
responsible if trouble springs out of their
neglect of it." Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, the
successor of Lord Carnarvon as Colonial Secre-
tary, took a very tolerant view of Captain
Douglas's lapse. He approved the action of
the Governor, as he was bound to do, having
regard to the instructions issued from Downing
Street by his predecessor, but he spoke of
Captain Douglas's action as an " error of judg-
ment," and indulgently remarked that he fully
recognised the delicacy of the task imposed
on the Residents, and was aware that much
must be left to their discretion on occasions
when prompt and firm action was called for.
Sir Michael Hicks-Beach's broad way of look-
ing at this episode, we may assume, was not
without its effect upon the Government at
Singapore and the Residential officials. It
was, at all events, in the spirit of his despatch
rather than in consonance with the letter of the
" Instructions to Residents " that the administra-
tion of the Malay States proceeded during the
next few years. It was well that it was. so, for
a lack of courage at the outset — indecision on
vital matters of principle — would have militated
E * ■'■

106

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

seriously against the success of the work in
hand. Indeed, it may be questioned whethei-
the magnificent result which we see to-day
would have been possible if British officials of
those early days, when everything was in the
melting-pot, had stood idly by while the native
chiefs were manipulating the alloys after their
own fashion. The Residents, who were all
officials selected for their special knowledge
of Malays, were not the type of men to accept
a role of this sort. They knew that British
administrative capacity and even the national
prestige was at stake ; they knew further that
here vi^as a splendid heritage for the Empire to
be had only for the asking ; so, nothing fearing,
they kept steadily on their course. They were
not " rulers," but they were pre-eminently the
power behind the throne. The ship of State
was directed whither they wished it to go, and
they wished it go along the path -of good
government, which was also the high-road
to commercial prosperity.

One of the earliest developments of the re-
constituted Residential system was the estab-
lishment of advisory Councils of State. This
was a very astute move, for it did more to
secure the support of influential Malays and
reconcile them to the new regime than any
other step taken in these early days. The
Councils, on which there was a mixed repre-
sentation of chiefs, local officials, and leading
men, transacted the ordinary business of an
executive council. They discussed and passed
legislative enactments, considered revenue ques-
tions, and the civil and pension lists, and con-
ferred with the Resident on important matters
affecting the welfare of the State. The first of
these Councils was established in Perak, and
was an immediate success owing to the intelli-
gent co-operation of the Malay chiefs and the
general goodwill of the leaders of the foreign
native community. Selangor later was en-
dowed with a Council, and the other States,
after further intervals, followed on the same
path. "The institution," Sir Frank Swettenham
says, " served its purpose admirably. The
Malay members from the first took an intelli-
gent interest in the proceedings, which were
always conducted in Malay, and a seat on the
Council is much coveted and highly prized. A
tactful Resident could always carry the majority
with him, and nothing was so useful or effective
in cases of difficulty as for those who would
have been obstructive to find that their opinions
were not shared by others of their own class
and nationality."

Perak, as the chief seat of the troubles which
led to British intervention, was watched anxi-
ously by the authorities in the period following
the cessation of hostilities. Happily in Mr. (after-
wards Sir) Hugh Low the State had an adviser
of exceptional ability and strength of character.
His previous service had been in Borneo,
but he thoroughly understood the Oriental
character and quicklj' adapted himself to the
special characteristics of the Malay. His was
the iron hand beneath the velvet glove. Firm
and yet conciliatory, he directed the ship of
State with unerring skill through the shoals
and quicksands which beset its course in those
early days when the population, or an influ-
ential part of it, was smarting under the sense
of defeat. Perhaps his tactfulness was in no

direction more strikingly shown than in his
treatment of the delicate question of debt
slavery. It was obvious from the first that the
system was incompatible with British notions
of sound and just administration. But to in-
augurate a change was no easy task. The
practice was, as we have said, a cherished
Malay custom, and cut deeply into the home
life of the people. Moreover, abolition meant
money, and the State at that time was not
too well endowed with funds. The masterful
Resident, however, was not to be deterred by
these considerations from taking up the ques-
tion. He worked quietly to secure the good-
will of the chiefs, and having done this, formu-
lated a scheme by which the State should
purchase the freedom of all bond slaves, paying
to their masters a maximum sum of 30 dollars
for a male and 60 dollars for a female slave.
The proposals were duly laid before the Perak
Council, and after discussion unanimously

SIB HUGH LOW.

adopted, December 31, 1883, being fi.xed as
the final date for the continuance of the state
of slavery. The emancipation measures were
attended by some interesting results. Very
few freedmen consented to leave their masters
or mistresses, while the latter on their part
almost universally said that they set the slaves
free '• for the glory of God," and refused to take
the State's money. " How can we take money
for our friends who have so long lived with us,
many of them born in our houses ? W'e can
sell cattle, fruit or rice, but not take money for
our friends." "Such e.xpressions," Sir Frederick
Weld wrote in a despatch dated May 3, 18S3,
"have been used in very many cases in
different parts of Perak. Many slave children
whose own mothers are dead always call their
mistresses 'mother,' and the attachment is
reciprocal. In fine, this investigation has
brought into notice many of the fine qualities
of a most interesting and much maligned race.

and affords conclusive proof that the abuses
which are sure to co-exist with slavery could
not have been general, and bore no comparison
with those formerly often accompanying negro
slavery in our own colonies."

A rather unpleasant incident, which threatened
at one time to have very serious consequences,
arose out of the edict for the manumission of
slaves. Soon after the arrangements had been
put in force the inhabitants of the sub-district
of Lomboh, on the Perak river, a centre in
close proximity to the scene of Mr. Birch's
murder, declined to pay taxes, giving as one of
their reasons the abolition of slavery. They
refused to meet the Resident excepting by
proceeding as an armed bod5' to Kuala Kangsa,
and declared that if they were defeated they
would disperse in small bands and harry the
country.

Everything was done by the British officials
and the Malay chiefs to bring the malcontents
to reason, but they stubbornly refused to listen,
and when approached, beat the mosque drum
as a call to the inhabitants to arms. In the
circumstances Mr. Low, the Resident, had no
alternative but to make a display of force, for,
as Sir Frederick Weld, the Governor, remarked
in his despatch to the Secretary of State on the
subject, " to have yielded to threats would have
destroyed all the good work we have done in
civilising and pacifying the country." He there-
fore ordered a force of 100 armed police and
two guns to proceed down the river from
Kuala Kangsa, and himself proceeded up the
river from Teluk Anson with 40 men. The
Lamboh people, seeing the Resident's deter-
mined attitude and impressed by the proximity
of his highly disciplined and effective force,
made a complete submission. They now
willingly paid their tax, and, expressing deep
contrition, promised most humbly never to
repeat the offence, but to petition in a quiet
way if they had a grievance. Accepting their
plea that they were " poor ignorant jungle
people," Mr. Low withdrew his warrant for
the arrest of the ringleaders, and so terminated
happily an episode which might with less
skilful handling have set the whole peninsula
aflame once more.

In 1884, on Sir Hugh Low's retirement from
the Residency of Perak, Sir Cecil Smith, the
officer administering the government of the
Straits Settlements, reviewed the work done in
the State since the introduction of British
supervision. In 1876 the revenue of Perak
amounted to 2 1.3,419 dollars, and the expendi-
ture to 226,379 dollars. In 1883 the revenue
had reached a total of i, 474,330 dollars, while
the expenditure had grown to 1,350,610 dollars.
During the period of Sir Hugh Low's adminis-
tration debts to. the amount of 800,000 dollars
incurred in connection with the disturbances
had been paid off, and the State was at the
period of the review entirely free from such
liabilities. There was a cash balance at the
close of the year of 254,949 dollars. As to
trade, the value of the imports was calculated
in 1876 at 831,375 dollars, and the exports at
739,970 dollars. Similar returns for 1883 showed
the imports to have been valued at 4,895,940
dollars, and the exports 5,625,335 dollars. Put
in sterling, the aggregate value of the trade
was ;^r2, 000,000.

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI.AYA

107

Sir Hugh Low in his farewell report himself
summarises the results of his administration
in these graphic sentences : " When I first
entered upon the duties of the position of
adviser to the State there was only one steamer
trading between Pinang and Larut, which was
subsidised by the Government and made the
voyage once in five or six days. There are now
twelve steamers trading between Pinang and
Perak, two or three of which arrive at and
depart from Larut daily;, there are others
plying to and fro between Pinang and Singa-
pore, calling at the intervening ports, so that,
as is also shown by the returns, the trade has
undergone a large development. The country
has been opened up by excellent roads in the
most important positions, and by a very exten-
sive system of bridle paths in places of less
consequence. Progress has been made in
rendering rivers more navigable. A military
police, consisting of infantry, artillery, and
cavalry, second to none in the East, has been

which has a most abundant supply of excellent
water conveyed to it in three miles of 8-inch
pipes, is lighted with kerosene lamps, and in
process of being connected with a new port bj'
a metre-gauge railway eight miles in length.
Very excellent barracks, large hospitals, courts
of justice, commodious residences for all ofticers
except the Resident, and numerous police
stations and public buildings have been erected
at the chief stations ; a museum with a scientific
staff and experimental gardens and farms
established ; the nati\'c foreign Eastern popu-
lation conciliated ; ancient animosities healed
up, and all causes of disquietude removed. As
compared with 1876, when3i2,872 dollarswere
collected, the revenues of the State are now
more than quadrupled, and the Treasury,
rescued from insolvency, now contains a large
balance available for further development of
the resources of the Stale."

Sir Frederick Weld, who was Governor of
the Straits Settlements from 1879 to 1887, took

made. It was his practice during his term of
office to be continually on the move through
the States, seeing for himself the needs of the
territory and keeping constantly in touch with

SIR HUGH LOW AND THE SULTAN OF PERAK.
(From a photograph taken during Sir Hugh Low's term of office as Resident of Perak.)

recruited, disciplined, and most fully equipped,
and also supplies a most efficient fire brigade
for the town of Taiping. Two considerable
and prosperous towns have been built, one of

a deep interest in the development of the
Malay States, and to his energetic initiative
and persistent advocacy was due in large
measure the steady uninterrupted progress

SIR FREDK. A WELD, K.C.M.G.

local opinion. He not only informed himself,
but he took good care to keep the authorities
at home thoroughly posted on all matters of
importance. Bright little descriptions of his
journeyings were sent to the Colonial Office, and
the staid officials there, amid details of official
receptions, read gossipy accounts of camp in-
cidents or adventures with wild beasts. .\ few
excerpts from these despatches may be appro-
priately introduced, as they give a sketch of the
early administration of the States which is
both lively and informing. Writing of a tour
made in March, 1883, Sir Frederick Weld
furnishes an interesting description of Kuala
Lumpor. " The improvement in the town,"
he says, " was marked. The main road has
been improved ; neat, inexpensive police
stations and good bridges have replaced de-
cayed old ones, whilst several new buildings
are in progress." A visit paid subsequently to
Larut and Lower Perak was productive of an
equally favourable impression. " At Teluk
.inson, the headquarters of the last named
district, I found great changes in progress.
Many good buildings have been erected and
the streets are well laid out. The canal, which
saves eight miles of river navigation, is likely
to be a success, and is nearly finished. The
hospital is commodious and in good order."

Later in the year Sir Frederick Weld was
again in Selangor, and he makes these refer-
ences to his visit : " At Kanching, about 15
miles north of Kuala Lumpor, we passed
through and by a considerable forest of
camphor trees, many of them 200 feet high.
This tract occupied by camphor trees is the
largest of the kind known in the peninsula,
and the only one on the western side of the
range. The Malays fear to cut the trees, as
they say the smell gives them fever. Mr.
Gower, who is putting up tin-mining machinery
in the neighbourhood, got seven Japanese to
attempt cutting a tree, and they all actually did
get fever. This is very remarkable, as camphor
is usually considered to be a febrifuge. This
forest must become of enormous value, and I

108

TWENTIETH CEXTUJRY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

have directed that it be reserved to the State
and preserved.

" In the inhabited districts all the villages
were decorated, always tastefully and some-
times very beautifully. I was welcomed with
dancing and singing ; they emulated their
ancient legends of the programme of the pass-
age of certain great Rajas in ancient times, and
there is little doubt but that I had at least the
advantage in the heartiness of the welcome.
Even the wild Sakais and Semangs, the
aborigines, came down from the mountains,
bringing with them their women and children
to meet me. They one and all assured me
that under our rule the Malays have ceased to
molest them, and one said that if they did
he should go straight off to find a European
magistrate and the police. They themselves
are a most harmless, kindly, and good-tempered
race."

CHAPTER X.

Continued Progress — Federation — Magni-
ficent Results of British Interven-
tion— Conclusion.

What Sir Hugh Low accomplished in Perak
was done in a minor degree in the other States.
In the Nine States progress was for a time
retarded by the mutual jealousies of the chiefs
and the slumbering resentment of the popula-
tion, who did not take too kindly to some of
the changes wrought by British supervision.
Owing largely to these causes the inevitable
federation of the group of States was delayed.
In 1876 six of the nine States united, agreeing
to work together under the headship of Tunku
Antar, who was given the title of Yam Tuan of
Sri Menanti. The dissenting States, Sungei
Ujong, Rembau, and Jelebu, after a few years'
independent life, thought better of their
refusal, and entered the federation, the formal
act being registered in an agreement under
which they acknowledged Tunku Muhammad,
C.M.G., the successor of Tunku Antar, as their
Raja, with the title of Yang-di-Pertuan of Negri
Sambilan. In Selangor, first under Mr. David-
son and later under Mr. Swettenham, rapid
progress was made when once the country had
settled down. The revenue grew from 193,476
dollars in 1876 to 300,423 dollars in 1882. The
next year there was a further advance to
450,644 dollars. After the lapse of another five
years the receipts had grown to the large
figure of 1,417,998 dollars. Thus in twelve
years the revenue of the State had increased
sevenfold. The expenditure kept pace with
the receipts, because at the outset there were
heavy liabilities to be liquidated, and through-
out the period there were demands ever grow-
ing for public works absolutely essential for
the development of the territory. The general
situation of the States in these early years is
illustrated by these figures showing the total
receipts and expenditure of Perak, Selangor,
and Sungei Ujong at particular periods from
1876 to 1888 :

Year. Revenue. Expenditure.

1876 8560,997 »585,i89

1880 881,910 794,944

1884 2,148,155 2,138,710

1888 3,657.673 3,013,943

The revenue system adopted in the States
under British supervision differed materially
from that of the British settlements. Its lead-
ing features at the outset were an import duty
on opium, spirits, and tobacco, a farm of the
sole right to open gambling houses, various
licence fees, quit rents, &c., an export duty of
10 per cent, ad valorem on all jungle produce
and salt fish, and an export duty on tin. The
last-named import was the backbone of the
system. To it is mainly due the remarkable
development of the States. Without the steady
and increasing flow to the exchequer of the tin
receipts, the magnificent public works which
are the most conspicuous feature of the fede-
rated area would have been luxuries beyond
the attainment of the administration. Refer-
ences to these works are made elsewhere in
this volume, and it is only necessary to touch
lightly upon the subject here. The earliest
works undertaken were almost exclusively con-
cerned with the improvement of communica-
tions. As was stated at the beginning of this
hibtorical sketch, when the British first inte-
rested themselves in the concerns of the Malay
States they found a practically roadless
country. About the mines in Larut a few
miles of ill-kept track, dignified by the name of
road, served for purposes of transporting the
tin to the coast, but this was an isolated
example of enterprise. Communications, such
as they were, were carried on for the most
part by the numerous rivers and waterways in
which the coast abounds. The British Resi-
dents quickly realised that if the States were
to prosper there must be a good system of
internal and ultimately of inter-State communi-
cation established. The efforts were directed
to two ends — the improvement of the water-
ways by the clearing of channels, and the
construction of roads. The former was a com-
paratively easy task, as in many cases all that
was required was the expenditure of moderate
sums on labour with the object of removing
vegetation, which had accumulated to such an
extent as to render the streams useless for
navigation. The roads, on the other hand, had
to be driven for the most part through virgin
forest land, and the work was a troublesome
and costly business. The Resident of Selangor
in 1882-83, in order to meet the demand for
increased means of communication without
putting too heavy a strain upon the public
resources, hit upon the expedient of making
the initial roadway a bridle-path 6 feet wide
without metalling and with very simple and
cheap bridges. Traffic arteries of this type
were constructed at the low cost of ;^i5o a
mile, and they served all reasonable needs
until the period when the growth of the State
revenue justified the heavier expenditure in-
volved in the provision of a macadamised road
with permanent bridges. This plan was finally
adopted in all the States with markedly
successful results. The bridle-paths attracted
settlers to the districts through which they
passed, and soon a thriving population was to
be found in districts which previously had
been an uninhabited waste. When the popula-
tion was large enough to justify the expendi-
ture, and fvmds permitted, the permanent road
was provided. In this way, bit by bit, was
created a network of splendid roads, the like

of which is not to be found anywhere in Asia,
excepting perhaps in India. Side by side with
road construction the Government prosecuted
measures for the settlement of the country.
" Efforts," says Sir Frank Swettenham in his
work, " were made to encourage the building
of villages all over the country, and round the
headquarters of every district settlers congre-
gated, small towns were laid out, shops and
markets were built, and everything was done
to induce the people to believe in the perman-
ence of the new institutions. The visitor who
now travels by train through a succession of
populous towns, or who lands at or leaves busy
ports on the coast, can hardly realise the
infinite trouble taken in the first fifteen years
to coax Malays and Chinese and Indians to
settle in the country, to build a better class of
house than the flimsy shanties or adobe struc-
ture hitherto regarded as the height of all
reasonable ambition. As the villages grew and
the roads joined up the various mining fields
and scattered hamlets, village councils, styled
Sanitary Boards, were instituted to regulate the
markets, sanitation, slaughter houses, laundries,
water supply, and the hundred and one
improvements of rapidly growing centres of
population. Every nationality is represented
on these boards, and the members take an
intelligent interest in municipal administration."

The construction of railways was an inevitable
accompaniment of the commercial development
of the States. The pioneer scheme was a line
eight miles long between Taiping, the chief
mining town in Larut, and Port Weld, on a
deep-water inlet of the Larut river. Another
and more ambitious scheme undertaken some
little time before the line was opened for traffic
in 1884 was a railway between Kuala Lumpor
and Klang in Selangor, a distance of 22 miles.
Funds for this work were lent by the Straits
Settlements Government, but the loan was re-
called long before the work was completed, and
the State authorities had to get on as best they
could without external aid. Fortunately the
revenue at the time was in a highly satisfactory
condition, and no great difficulty was experi-
enced in financing the venture out of current
income. The line was an immediate success.
In the first few months of working it achieved
the remarkable result of earning a revenue
which yielded a profit equal to 25 per cent, on
the amount expended. From these compara-
tively small beginnings grew the great railway
system which already has linked up the western
districts of the peninsula, and which is destined
probably in the not remote future to be the
important final section of a great continental
system of railways.

On the purely administrative side the work
of supervision was not less effective than in the
practical directions we have indicated. A
judicial system was built up on lines suited
to the needs of the population, educational
machinery was started with special provision
for the principal racial sections of which the
inhabitants were composed, a land settlement
system was devised, hospitals and dispensaries
were started, and a magnificent police force —
partly Indian, partly Malay — was created. In
fine, the States were gradually equipped with
all the essential institutions of a progressive
comraunitj'. The story of liow these various

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

109

departments of the Federated Malay States
Government grew may be left to be told by
other writers. It is sufficient here to say that,
with trivial exceptions, the work has been
marked by a measure of successful achieve-
ment which is worthy of the most brilliant
examples of British administration.

In 1888 the British responsibiHties in the
peninsula were increased by the addition of
Pahang to the list of protected States. This
State stood suspiciously apart when the other
States were brought into the sphere of British
influence, and it resolutely repelled all over-

authorities at Singapore, who saw in it only
another indication of the perverse indepen-
dence of the chief. They had, liowever, only
to wait for an opportunity for intervention. It
came one day when a more than usually brutal
outrage was perpetrated upon a British subject
with the connivance of the ruler. Satisfaction
was demanded by Sir Clementi Smith, the then
Governor of the Straits, and was refused. The
position was becoming critical when the chief,
acting mainly on the advice of the Maharaja of
Johore, expressed regret for what had occurred
and asked for the appointment of a British

the adjoining Stales, there to be either killed or
captured by the Siamese. Pahang has never
had reason to regret the decision taken by its
chief to join the circle of protected States. In
the seventeeji years ending 1906 which followed
the introduction of the Residential system, its
revenue increased tenfold and its trade expanded
from an insigniiicant total to one approximating
five million dollars in value.

The remarlcable progress made by the pro-
tected States and the consequent widening of
the administrative sphere brought into promi-
nence the necessity of federation in order to

GROUP TAKEN AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE, SINGAPORE, DURING SIR F. WELD'S ADMINISTRATION.

The figure in the centre is Sir F. Weld ; seated on his left are Sir Hugh Low and the Sultan of Perak.

tures. On one occasion the Straits Government
had to bring the chief to reason by a bombard-
ment of his capital. After that there was little
or no intercourse, until one day a British war
vessel dropped into harbour to see what was
doing in that part of the world. The captain
landed to pay his respects, and on being ushered
into the presence of the chief, found him seated
on a pile of cannon balls which had been fired
from the British warships on the occasion of
the bombardment. The humour of the situa-
tion appealed to the British representative, but
the incident was not so much relished by the

Resident. The amende was accepted, and Mr.
(now Sir) J. P. Rodger was appointed Resident,
with ;Mr. Hugh Clifford as Assistant. The new
order was not accepted peacefully by an im-
portant section, represented by a group of petty
chiefs. These resented the British intrusion
and all that it implied in ordered administration
and restraints on oppression, and they took up
arms. A long and expensive campaign was
involved in the suppression of this rising ; but
eventually, thanks largely to Mr. Hugh Clifford's
exertions, the revolting element was ■ either
hunted down or driven across the border into

deal more effectually with questions of common
interest which were continually arising. In
1893 Sir Frank Swettenham, who since the
conclusion of the military operations in Perak
had filled the post of Secretary for Malay Affairs
to the Straits Settlement Government, drew up
a scheme for the federation of the four States,
and this in due course was forwarded to the
Colonial Secretary. \Mien Sir Charles Mitchell
was appointed to the government of the Straits
Settlements in succession to Sir Clementi Smith,
in i8g6, he carried with him instructions to
report upon the desirability and feasibility of

no

TWEXTIETH CEXTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

the project. Sir Charles Mitchell, after mature
consideration of the question, forwarded a re-
commendation in favour of the scheme, subject,
however, to its receiving the approval of the
ruling chiefs. Mr. Chamberlain in his turn
gave conditional sanction to the federation idea

SIR CECIL CLEMENTI SMITH, G.C.M.G.

on these lines, and Sir Frank Swettenham was
entrusted with the duty of securing the adhesion
of the Residents and chiefs to his plans. His
mission was entirely successful. The Resi-
dents welcomed the scheme, though it made a
striking change in the system of government
by putting over them a Resident-General, who
was given executive control under the direction
of "the High Comm'ssioner for the Federated
Malay States," otherwise the Governor of the
Straits Settlements. The chiefs also gave the
project their cordial approval. They were in-
fluenced in its favour. Sir Frank Swettenham
says, because it did not touch their own status
in any way, and because they believed that as
a federation they would be stronger and more
important, and that their views would be
more likely to receive consideration should a
day come when they found themselves at
variance with the supreme authority, be it
High Commissioner at Singapore or Secretary
of State in England. A further consideration
was the financial advantage which would
accrue from the change. " Two of the States,
Perak and Selangor, were then very rich ;
Negri Sambilan had a small debt, but was
financially sound ; while Pahang was very
poor, owed a large sum to the colony, and,
though believed to be rich in minerals, had no
resources to develop the country. By federa-
tion the rich States were to help the poor ones ;
so Pahang and Negri Sambilan hoped to gain
by the arrangement, while the rulers of Perak
and Selangor were large-minded enough to
welcome the opportunity of pushing on the
backward Stales for the glory and ultimate
benefit of the federation. Further, they wel-
comed federation because it meant consistency
and continuity of policy. It meant the abolition
of inter-State frictions and jealousies, and the

power to conceive and execute great projects
for the benefit of the partnership without refer-
ence to the special interests of any partner.
Above all, they not only accepted but desired
federation, because they believed that it would
give them, in the Resident-General, a powerful
advocate of their needs and their views, a friend
whose voice would be heard further and carry
more weight than that of any Resident, or of all
the Residents acting independently."

The new system was formally introduced
on July I, i8g6, with Sir Frank Swettenham as
the first Resident-General. Kuala Lumpor
was selected as the headquarters of the federal
departments, and here gradually grew up a
series of fine public buildings in keeping with
the importance of the federated area. Now,
with an important trunk railway running
through it, a network of roads radiating from
it to all important points, and a considerable
residential population, it vies in dignity and size
with the chief towns of many Crown colonies.
In matters of government the fruits of the
federation were quickly seen in various direc-
tions. A Judicial Commissioner (Mr. Lawrence
Jackson, Q.C.) was appointed to try capital
charges and hear appeals from the magisterial
courts. Simultaneously there was a reorganisa-
tion of the magisterial system, and counsel for
the first time were admitted to plead in the
Malay State Courts. At a later period the
judicial bench was strengthened by the addition
of two Assistant Commissioners, and a Public
Prosecutor was appointed to facilitate criminal
procedure. Other changes were the appoint-
ment of a Financial Commissioner, and the
reorganisation of the whole financial system,
the amalgamation of the police forces and
the Public Works Departments of the several
States, and the institution of a Railway Depart-
ment, with a General-Manager as head of the
entire system. Further, a regiment known as
the Malay States Guides was constituted for
purposes of defence. This is a splendid
force, 900 strong, recruited from the war-
like Indian races and officered by officers
seconded from the British Army. Finally, an
elaborate trigonometrical survey has been set
on foot on a uniform system, a department for
the conservation of forests has been created,
Geological and Agricultural Departments estab-
lished, and an institute for medical research
under the direction of a highly-trained patho-
logist provided.

This was the practical outcome of federa-
tion as it affected the administration. In less
tangible ways it has worked a great change in
the States. One of its most notable influences
has been the tightening of the bonds of sym-
pathy between the various parts of the federated
area and the creation of a sentiment of pride
in the prosperity and greatness of the common
country. This phase of federation was brought
out very strongly in July, 1897, when a Con-
ference of Malay rulers, members of State
Councils and chiefs was held at Kuala Kangsa,
the seat of the Sultan of Perak, to celebrate the
introduction of the new system. Every chief
of importance was present, and the proceedings
were marked by absolute harmony and even
enthusiasm. Sir Frank Swettenham, in his
official report, summed up the results of the Con-
ference in the following interesting fashion ;

" From every point of view the meeting has
been an unqualified success, and it is difficult to
estimate now the present and prospective value
of this unprecedented gathering of Malay
Sultans, Rajas, and chiefs. Never in the history
of Malaya has any siich assemblage been
even imagined. I doubt whether anybody has
ever heard of one ruler of a State making a
ceremonial visit to another ; but to have been
able to collect together in one place the
Sultans of Perak, Selangor, Pihang, and the
Negri Sambilan is a feat that might well have
been regarded as impossible. People who do
not understand the Malay cannot appreciate the
difficulties of such a task ; and I confess that
I myself never believed that we should be able
to accomplish it. It was hardly to be expected
that a man of the great age of the Sultan of
Selangor could be induced to make, for him, so
long and difficult a journey, and to those who
know the pride, the prejudices, and the sensi-
tiveness of Malay Rajas, it was very unlikely
that the Sultan of Pahang would join an
assemblage where he could not himself dictate
the exact part which he would play in it. It is
not so many years since the Governor of the
Straits Settlements found the utmost difficulty
in getting speech with Malay Rajas in the
States which are now federated ; Sir Frederick
Weld, even though accompanied by the present
Sultan of Perak, by Sir Hugh Low, and the
present Residents of Selangor and Pahang, all
officers accustomed to deal with Malays, had to
wait several hours on the bank of the Pahang
river before any one could persuade the Sultan
of Pahang to leave a game of chance in which
he was engaged with a Chinese in order to
grant an interview to his Excellency. It is
difficult to imagine a greater difference than
between then and now, and, though the Sultan
of Perak has been far more nearly associated
with British officers than any other of the
Sultans, he has always been extremely jealous
of his rights as a ruler. I was, therefore, sur-

SIR FRANK SWETTENHAM, K.C.M.R.

prised to hear the frank way in which, at the
Council, he spoke of British protection, which
he did not hesitate to describe as control.

"The deliberations of the Council were both
interesting and useful, and there is no doubt
that, in some respects, we could not have

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

111

arrived at the same ends by any otlier means
than the meeting of the Rajas of the Federated
States and their responsible advisers. All the
proceedings of the Council were conducted in
the Malay language, and I am convinced that, if
ever it were necessary to introduce interpreta-
tion, no such successful meetings as those just
concluded could ever be held. The Sultans
and all their chiefs spoke on all the subjects
which interested them, without either hesita-
tion or difficulty, and on matters concerning the
Mahammadan religion, Malay customs, and
questions which specially touch the well-being
of Malays, it would be impossible to find else-
where such knowledge and experience as is
possessed by those present at the recent
meetings. Nothing can be decided at the
Council, which is only one of advice, for no
Raja has any voice in the affairs of any State
but his own. This was carefully explained
and is thoroughly understood. But it is of

and depicting the gradual change in the
feelings of the people, an attitude of distrust
and suspicion of British officials giving place
to one of confidence and regard. In these
Conferences we have the crowning triumph
and vindication of British intervention. They
may be regarded as the coping-stone of the
edifice of administrative efficiency and pro-
gress reared on the blood-stained ashes of the
old anarchical regime which once made the
name Malaya a byword for ruthless bar-
barism and the cruellest despotism.

Figures are usually dull things, but only
figures can properly bring home to the under-
standing the immensity of the change which
has been worked in the peninsula imder British
direction. We make no excuse, therefore, for
introducing the following official table, which
illustrates the position of the Federated States
from the year i88g, when Pahang came under
British protection.

perusal of the table. If they study it with even
a moderate disposition to be fair, they will
arise from the exercise with minds attuned to
a new view of the capacity of their fellow-
countrymen who are bearing the white man's
burden in distant regions, and of the material
advantages which accrue from the wise ex-
tension of British influence. And the glory of
the success is that it has been won, not by the
sword, but by peaceful methods directed with
the aid and co-operation of the most influential
elements of the native community. The power
has been there, but it has been sparingly used.
Moral suasion is the force which has worked
the transformation from a territory weltering
in the most ferocious form of internecine war,
with trade paralysed and agriculture neglected,
to a land of plenty, with mineral and agricul-
tural wealth developed to the highest extent,
and with a twenty-fold larger population living
a contented and law-abiding existence. In

FEDERATED MALAY STATES.

Special General Return.

Trade.

Forest
Revenue.

Postal

Railway
Receipts.

Population.

Year.

Revenue.

Expenditure.

Duty on
Tin.

Land
Revenue.

and Tele-
grapli

Negri -
Sambilan.

Year.

*

Imports.

Exports.

s

*

Revenue.

•*

«

Perak.

Selan.gor.

Pahang.

Total.

$

s

%

S

1889

S,oi3,ooo

4,091,078

15.653.456

19,720,689

1,750,008

190,538

—

26,027

359,025

—

—

—

—

—

1889

1890

4,840,065

5.237.275

15,443,809

17,602,093

1,609,401

166,054

—

37.742

406,032

—

—

—

—

—

1S90

1891

4,572,310-

5.554.800

14,889,942

18,495,554

1. 573.441

199,680

—

44,286

414,889

214,254

81,592

70.730

57,642

42^,218

iSgif

1892

5,347,189

5,883,407

19,161,159

22,662,359

2,097,274

300,680

—

53,630

537.1 1 1

—

—

—

—

—

1892

1S93

6,413.134

6,797,538

21,896,117

27.373.760

2,602,380

347,600

—

73.941

723.934

—

—

—

—

—

1893

1894

7,511.809

7,162,396

24,499,615

32,703,147

3,238,000

457,262

—

89,790

986,617

—

—

—

—

—

1894

1895

8,481,007

7,582,553

22,653,271

31,622,805

3,379.813

468,239

—

110,793

1,294,390

—

—

—

—

—

1895

1896

8,434,083

8,598.147

21,148,895

28,395,855

3,126.974

511,237

—

140,230

1,344,994

—

—

—

—

—

1896

1897

8,296,687

8.795.313

25,000,682

31,148,340

2,716,263

636,054

—

141,328

1. 294.139

—

—

—

—

—

1897

1S98

9,364,467

11,110,042

27,116,446

35,241,003

3,210,699

636,927

—

173.709

1,394,720

—

—

—

—

1898

1899

13,486,410

11,499.478

33.765,073

54,895,139

6,181,542

639,899

—

166,838

1.722,47s

—

—

—

—

—

1899

1900

15,609,807

12,728,930

38,402.581

60,361,045

7.050,382

712,898

—

191.525

2,254,742

—

—

—

—

— 1 1900

1901

17,541,507

17,273,158

39,524,603

63,107,177

6,968,183

626,114

287,548

202,121

2,377,040

329,665

168,789

96,028

84,113

678,595

igoit

1902

20,550,543

15,986,247

45,757,240

71.350,243

S.438,775

661,668

288,053

241,944

2,856,640

—

—

—

—

—

1902

1903

22,672,567

16,219,872

47,790.059

80,253,944

9.590.505

721,304

514,657

278,715

3,608,054

381,500

216,920

117,820

85,000

801,240

1903 1

1904

22,255,269

19,318,768

46,955.742

77,620,084

8,814,688

S01.959

589,707

317.639

3,605,029

400,000

234.404

118,747

85,000

838,151

IQ04t

190S

23,964,593

20,750,395

.50,575,455

80,057,654

9,249,627

887,593

622,009

296,323

3.940,599

400,000

240,546

119.454

100,000

860,000

1905 1

*i9o6

27,223,476

18,899,425

50,926,606

80,832,325

10,036,798

1.437,753

598,999

437,487

4,564,100

413,000

283,619

118,408

100,000

915,027

1906

Note. — Tlie total Revenue and the total Expenditure of Perak. Selangor, and Negri Samb'ilan in 1875 were respectively $409,394 and §436,872.
appear in i88g. Federation dates from Julj' i, 1896.

Revenue. Expenditure.

Figures for Pahang iirst

» Perak
Selangor
Negri Sambilan
Pahang

$r4, 282.484

9,803,184

2 487,090

650,718

^,776478
6,414,257
2,274.337

1,434,353

■f- A census of the population was taken in 1891 and in 1901. The population of Perak in 1879 was estimated at 8i,o8:|, and in 1889 at 194,801 ; that of Selangor in 1884
at 46,568 and in 1887 at 97,ic6. No figures for the other States are given prior to 1891.
X Estimated for 1903, 1904, and 1905.

great value to get together the best native
opinions and to hear those qualified to do so
thoroughly discuss, from varying points of
view, questions which are similar in all the
Federated States. On several important
subjects the members of the Council expressed
unanimous views, and it now only remains to
take action in the various State Councils to
secure identical measures embodying the
opinions expressed."

There was a second Conference on similar
lines at Kuala Lumpor in July, 1903. It was
equally as successful as the initial gathering.
One striking feature of the proceedings was a
notable speech by the Sultan of Perak, dwelling
upon the enormous advantages which had
accrued to the States from British intervention.

If there is romance in statistics it is surely to
be found in this wonderful table. Where in
the history of modern government can the
progress revealed by it be paralleled ? In
India, British government has worked mar-
vellous changes ; in Ceylon a splendid suc-
cess has been achieved ; even in the Straits
Settlements themselves we have an example of
the genius of the race for the government of
alien communities. But we may ransack the
Imperial records in vain for an instance in
which in so short an interval a great possession
has been built up. Those pessimists who
bewail the national degeneracy, equally with
the section of political extremists who are for
ever decrying the achievements of the British
Colonial official, may be commended to a

this fact lies the highest justification of the ex-
periment reluctantly and timidly entered upon
less than forty years ago. In it is to be
found the most splendid testimony to the
ability of the British administrators who have
been concerned in this most striking example
of Empire-building.

SUPPLEMENTARY.

The Peninsular States.

Perak. — The history of Perak inay be divided
into four periods. Of the first period (during
which the seat of government was at Bruas, in

112

T^VEXTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

the Bindings) we know next to notliing. A
few carved tombstones represent all that is left
uf this very ancient capital — and even these
are of late Achinese make and throw no light
whatever on the early history of the country.
It Malay tradition is right in saying that the
great arm of the sea at the Bindings was once
an outlet of the Perak river, we can easily
understand the importance of Bruas, combining
as it did the advantages of a perfect landlocked
harbour with a commanding situation at the
mouth of the greatest waterway in the western
half of the peninsula. Although Bruas was
powerful — the " Malay Annals " tell us — before
even the mythical ancestors of the Malacca
dynasty appeared on the famous hill of Sigun-
tang, it had begun to decline as the river silted
up. In the days of Sultan Mahmud (a.d. 1500)
Bruas had so far fallen that its King did homage
to Malacca in mere gratitude for assistance
against a petty rival village. After the Achi-
nese invasion the place entirely disappears
from history.
The second period of Perak history stretches

Kings, down to the extinction of his direct
male line in the wars with Achin. This period
covers a century — from 1530 to 1630 A.D. — and
is marked by the reigns of nine Sultans :

younger brother, Alaedin Riayat Shah II. It
goes on to tell us that this disinherited Prince,
after having first settled in Selangor, was
invited to fill the throne of Perak, and that he

MuDZAFAR Shah I.
(First Sultan)

Mansur Shah I.
(Second Sultan)

Mansur Shah
(Sultan of Achin)

Tajuddin Shah
(Third Sultan)

I
Raja Kechil

I

Taj-ul-arifin Shah
(Fourth Sultan)

A daughter

Alaedin Shah
(Fifth Sultan)

Mansur Shah II.
(Seventh Sultan)

A daughter
(m. the tenth Sultan)

Mukadam Shah
(Sixth Sultan)

Mahmud Shah I.
(Eighth Sultan)

Selaheddin Shah
(Ninth Sultan)

Perak tradition identifies its first Sultan, Mud-
zafar Shah, with a sou of Sultan Mahmud I.
(of Malacca), who was born about a.d. 1505,

THE REGALIA OP THE SULTAN OF PERAK.

from the coming of Mudzafar Shah I., the
reputed founder of the long line of Perak

and was at one time heir to the throne of
Johore, but was passed over in favour of his

reached his new kingdom after various adven-
tures, such as the slaughter of the great serpent,
Si-Katimuna, with the sword Chura Si-
Mandong Kini. As will have been seen, the
Perak tradition does not hesitate to borrow
from the legend of Sang Sapurba. Mudzafar
Shah was succeeded by his son, Mansur Shah.
After the death of this latter Prince, his widow
and children were taken prisoners by Achi-
nese invaders and carried off to Kota Raja,
where fortune favoured them in that the eldest
son — another Mansur Shah — succeeded in
marrying the Queen of Achin.

After restoring his brothers to Perak, this
.Achinese Mansur Shah perished in a revolu-
tion in a.d. 1585. Early in the sixteenth
century the great Iskandar Muda or Mahkota
Alam, Sultan of Achin, subjugated Perak and
led ruler after ruler to captivity and death, until
the direct male line of Mudzafar Shah had
completely died out and Perak had become a
mere province of his empire. About the year
1635 Mahkota Alam died, and his successor,
Sultan Mughal, sent a certain Raja Sulong
(who had married a Perak Princess) to
govern Perak as a tributary Prince under
the name of Sultan Mudzafar Shah II. This
event begins the third period of Perak
history.

As regards the truth of this story, there seems
very little doubt that there was a Raja Mudza-
far who was disinherited by Sultan Mahmud
Shah in the manner described by Perak
tradition. It is also true that this Raja Mudza-
far married Tun Trang and had a son Raja
Mansur, as the Perak tradition tells us. It also
seems true enough that the Achinese invaded
and conquered Perak. The only evidence
against the truth of this story is negative
evidence. The " Malay Annals " are absolutely
silent as to Raja Mudzafar having gone to
Perak, though Ihey give an account of the
second Mudzafar Shah, who was unquestion-
ably Sultan of Perak and who may possibly
have been confused with the first.

The third period of Perak history begins
with the accession of Mudzafar Shah II.
(a.d. 1635) and goes down to the death
of Mudzafar Shah III. (a.d. 1765). The
Sultans with whom tradition fills up this
period of 130 years are given in the following
table :

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

113

MuDZAFAR Shah II.
(Tenth Sultan)

Muhammad Iskandar Shah
(Eleventh Sultan)

I

Alaedin Riayat Shah
(Twelfth Sultan)

I
Mudzafar Shah III.
(Thirteenth Sultan)

Muhammad Shah
(Fourteenth Sultan)

It should be added that the eleventh Sultan is
said to have reigned for iii years, and that the
next three Sultans were his nephews bj' birth
and his sons by adoption.

This period presents great difficulties. Raja
Sulong, who married a Perak Princess and was
sent by the King of Achin to rule over Perak,
is a real figure in history. His mother was
a daughter or niece of the author of the "Malay
Annals." But (if we are to believe the " Malay
Annals") this Mudzafar Shah II. was succeeded
by Raja Mansur "who is reigning now." The
Perak account itself speaks of the twelfth,
thirteenth, and fourteenth Sultans as grandsons
of a certain Mansur Shah, who is not given in
the pedigree. The Perak account also states
that the Bugis chiefs, Klana Jaya Putra and
Daeng Chelak, invaded Perak in the days of
Alaedin Riayat Shah. As the Klana died in
A.D. 1628, the Ill-year reign seems to need
some modification. Again, the Bugis Raja
Lumu is said to have been cheated Sultan of
Selangor by Sultan Mahmud Shah of Perak in
A.D. 1743 ; who is this Mahmud Shah ?

Putting aside these questions of royal
descent, we know that this period (a.d. 1655-
1665) was one of extreme turbulence, and
probably of civil war. In A.D. 1650 the Dutch
opened a factory on the Perak river ; in a.d.
165 1 the factory was destroyed and its inmates
massacred. Hamilton, writing in a.d. 1727,
speaks of Perak as "properly a part of the
kingdom of Johor, but the people are untract-
able and rebellious, and the government
anarchical. Their religion is a sort of
heterodox Muhammedanism. The country
produces more tin than any in India, but the
inhabitants are so treacherous, faithless, and
bloody that no European nation can keep
factories there with safety. The Dutch tried
it once, and the first year had their factory cut
off. They then settled on Pulau Dinding,
but about the year 1690 that factory was also
cut off. The ruins of the blockhouse on the
island of Pangkor are still to be seen." In
justice to the Malays, it should be added that
the Dutch, in their anxiety to secure a trade
monopoly, treated the selling of tin to any one
but themselves as a serious offence, and even
as a casus belli. It is not therefore surprising
that disputes were frequent and sanguinary.

The first half of the eighteenth century in
Perak was marked by internal anarchy and
foreign invasions. There were three Kings in
the land — the Sultan of Bernam, the Sultan of
Perak, and the Regent ; the chiefs were at war
with each other, and the Bugis kept raiding
the country. About A.D. 1757 things had so far
settled down that the Dutch were able to
establish a factory at Tanjong Putus on the
Perak river. They subsequently sent a mission
to Sultan Mudzafar Shah about a.d. 1764, and
concluded a treaty with his successor, Muham-
mad Shah, in a.d. 1765.

The exact position of the next four Sultans in
the Perak pedigree is a matter of doubt, but
they seem to have been either brothers or
cousins of one another, and to have belonged
to the generation immediately following
Mudzafar Shah III. and Muhammad Shah.
From the eighteenth Sultan onwards the pedi-
gree is officially stated to have been as follows :

seems to have taken rather more of this
revenue than the local chiefs would willingly
have given him, Raja Jumaat, the principal
Lukut chief, succeeded at Sultan Muhammad's
death in diverting the succession from the
Sultan's son to a weak nominee of his own,
who belonged to another branch of the family.
The new ruler, Sultan Abdul-Samad, did not
interfere with the Lukut Princes, but he allowed
himself to be infiuenced by a stronger will
than his own, and ultimately surrendered all
true power into the hands of his son-in-law,
the Kedah Prince, Tengku Dzia-ud-din. He
thereby exasperated many of his subjects, who
did not like to see a foreigner become the real
ruler of the country.
Politically the State of Selangor has never

Ahmadin Shah
(Eighteenth Sultan)

I

.\bdul Malik Mansur Shah
(Nineteenth SuUan)

Abdullah Muadzam
(Twentieth Sultan)

r

I

Raja Ahmad

I
Raja Inu

Shahbudin
(Twenty-first Sultan)

Jafar
(Twenty-third Sultan)

I

Abdullah

(Twenty-sixth. Sultan)

Raja Alang
Iskandar

I

Sultan Idris

(now reigning)

All
(Twenty-fourth Sultan)

I
Raja Abdurrahman

Abdullah Muhammad
(Twenty-second Sultan)

Yusuf
(Twenty-seventh Sultan)

The special interest of this table lies in its
illustration of the curious law of succession
under which the three branches of the royal
house take it in turn to provide the reigning
Sultan.

Selangor. — The present reigning dynasty of
Selangor traces its descent to Raja Lumu, son
of Daeng Chelak, one of the Bugis chiefs who
overthrew the old State of Johore in a.d. 1722,
It should be added, however, that Raja Lumu
appears to have become Raja of Selangor
through his mother and not through his father.
In any case, he was recognised as Sultan of
Selangor in A.D. 1743. He maintained a close
alliance with his Riau relatives and with the
Bugis of Kuala Linggi. In a.d. 1756, and
again in a.d. 1783, the combined Bugis forces
attacked Malacca, but were repulsed with
heavy loss. On the second occasion the Dutch
followed up their success by attacking Kuala
Selangor and ultimately forcing the Sultan to
come to terms.

There have been five Sultans of Selangor ■
Sultan Selaheddin, who founded the dynasty ;
Sultan Ibrahim, who made the treaty with the
Dutch in a.d. 1786 ; Sultan Muhammad, who
reigned from a.d. 1826 to 1856 ; Sultan Abdul-
Samad, who accepted British protection, and
Sultan Sulaiman, the present ruler. The prin-
cipal events in the history of this State during
the last century were the development of
Lukut as a mining centre and the civil wars
between Raja Mahdi and Tengku Dzia-ud-din.
The Lukut mining led to a great influx of
Chinese immigrants, who paid a poll-tax to the
Bugis chiefs for their protection, and who
were kept in order by the splendid old fort
on the hills near Port Dickson. As the Sultan

been interesting. Piratical and anarchical, it
never developed any organised system of
government, nor did the authority of the Bugis
chiefs ever extend very far beyond their own
little settlements on the rivers or near the mines.

Negri Sambilan. — About the middle of
the seventeenth century, after the decline of
Achin and before the coming of the Bugis
pirates, a large number of Menangkabau
Malays migrated in small detachments from
Sumatra into the peninsula, where they founded
the little confederacy of States now known as
the Negri Sambilan. Extremely proud of their
origin, for Menangkabau is the purest-blooded
kingdom of Malaya, the descendants of these
immigrants still speak of themselves as " we
sons of Menangkabau, who live with the
heavens above us and the earth beneath our
feet, we who once dwelt on the slopes of the
mighty volcanoes as far as the Great Pass,
through which we came down to the plains
of Sumatra in the isle of Andalas." The early
settlers taught this formula to their children so
that their history might never be forgotten.
But they taught more. These sons of Me-
nangkabau were passionately devoted to the
old legal sayings, in which is embodied a most
extraordinary old system of matriarchal law.
Tliey are the most conservative people in
Malaya. To their everlasting honour it should
be added that they most loyally observed the
covenants by which they first obtained posses-
sion of their lands, and that to this day,
although all real power has long since passed
out of the hands of the aborigines, the proud
"sons of Menangkabau" acknowledge as ruling
chiefs in Rembau and Johol men who are
avowedly the representatives of the humble

114

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

Sakai race. The migrations seem to hiave been
peaceful. Ttie first comers occupied tlie nearest
lands in the district of Xaning ; the next
arrivals settled in Rembau ; the latest settlers
had to go further afield — to Sri Menanti, to
Inas, to Sungei Ujong, and to Jelebu. In the
development of their peculiar systems of con-
stitutional law and statecraft, treaties or con-
ventions (mitafakat) probably played a great
part. In Naning succession to the chieftaincy
went by descent in the female line ; a Dato' Sri
Maharaja was succeeded by his eldest sister's
son. This little State has been absorbed into
the settlement of Malacca, but the representa-
tives of the old rulers still receive a great deal
of popular respect and were even given a small
allowance of about £:ip a year by the British
Government up to a few years ago, when the
allowance was withdrawn because the then
" Dato' of Naning " omitted to call on Sir
William Maxwell when that officer was passing
through the district.

Next in antiquity to Naning comes Kembau.
Tradition has it that the first settlers in Rembau
were headed by two chiefs, Dato' Laut Dalam
and Dato' Lela Blang. These men, though
they settled in different localities, made an
alliance and arranged that their descendants
(in the female line) should take it in turn to be
rulers of the country. With the craving for
high-sounding names that is so striking a
feature of Malay character, these two chiefs
sought and obtained from the then Sultan of
Johore the titles that their descendants still bear.
The present ruler is the thirteenth Dato' of
Rembau and the seventh " Dato' Sedia Raja,"
the other six being " Dato' Lela Maharaja."

The founders of the State of Rembau were
followed to the Negri Sambilan by many other
headmen of small immigrant parties, until at
last a whole aristocracy of petty dignitaries
was established in the country. Far from
their homes in Sumatra and surrounded by
possible foes, the early settlers had looked to
Johore for protection and recognition ; but the
last comers, finding themselves strong and
Johore weak, began to seek for a Prince of their
own from the royal line of Menangkabau. In
their own words :
"The villager owes obedience to the village

elders.
The village elders to the district chief,
The district chief to the provincial chief.
The provincial chief to the ruler of the State."
This ruler of the State was the Yamtuan Besar
of Sri Menanti. He occupied a position of
great dignity, but of very little real authority
over great provincial chiefs like the Dato' of
Rembau ; but of late years he has had his
office strengthened bj' British support. The
principal provincial chiefs are :
The Dato' Klana of Sungei Ujong,
The Dato' Akhirzaman of Jelebu,
The Dato' Johan Pahlawan of Johol,
The Dato' of Rembau,
The Dato' Bandar of Sungei Ujong,
The Ruler of Tampin, and
The Dato' Muda of Linggi.

Pahang. — The early history of the State of
Pahang — as usually given — is brief and in-
accurate. Even so authoritative a work as the
present edition of the official " Handbook of
the Federated Malay States " sums it up in two
statements, both of which are incorrect. It
says : " The first ruler of Pahang of whom
there is any record was a son of the Sultan
Mahmud, who fled to Pahang from Malacca
after the capture of that town by the Portuguese
in A.D. 1511. A reputed descendant of his was
Bendahara All, who died in the year 1850 or
thereabouts."

We know from Portuguese as well as Malay
sources that when Albuquerque arrived at
Malacca he found the city engaged in festivities
over the marriage of Sultan Mahmud's daughter
to a Sultan of Pahang. The statement in the
"Handbook "is, therefore, singularly unfortun-
ate, since "a son of Sultan Mahmud" is obviously
the only thing that the Sultan could not have
been. There is, however, no mystery about
the origin of the old line of Sultans of Pahang.
The country was conquered by Mansur Shah
or Mudzafar Shah, and was first created a
separate sultanate by the former ruler, who
bestowed it upon his eldest son. This family
continued to reign over Pahang till 1699, when
Mahmud Shah 11., the latest Prince of the line,
was murdered by his Bendahara. Mahmud
Shah II, was succeeded as Sultan of Johore and
Pahang by this Bendahara, who took the title
of Abdul Jalil Riayat Shah. As after the Bugis
conquest of Linggi the Sultans were practi-
callv hostages and had to reside at Riau, they
deputed their principal ministers to gOvCrn in
their name, the Bendahara in Pahang and the
Temenggong in Johore. These ministers con-
tinued, however, to visit Riau from time to
time, and to take part in the decision of im-
portant matters, such as questions of succession
to the throne. At the death of Sultan Mahmud
Riayat Shah (a.d. 1812), the Bendahara came
up from Pahang and seems to have accepted
Sultan Abdurrahman as his suzerain, though
he must have personally favoured the other
candidate, Tengku Husain, who was his own
son-in-law. When the Riau family divided
into the Singapore branch under British pro-
tection and the Linggi branch under Dutch
control, the Bendaharas of Pahang acknow-
ledged the Linggi rulers, while the Temeng-
gongs of Johore threw in their lot with the
English. In time, however, both of these
great feudatories began to pay less attention
to their titular suzerains and to assume the
position of independent Princes, until at last
the British Government recognised the real
position by converting the Bendahara into a
Sultan of Pahang and the Temenggong into a
Sultan of Johore.

Malay history is a record of great vicissitudes
of fortune. Time after time the connecting
link between one period and another is a
mere band of fugitives, a few score refugees.
Such was the case in 151 1, in 1526, in 1615,
in 1673, and in 1721. It should not, there-

fore, be imagined that the new States that
were built up after each successive disaster
were made up entirely — or even largely- -of
men of true Malay blood. The bond connect-
ing the peninsular States is imity of language
and religion more than unity of blood. The
Northern Malay is physically unlike the Southern
Malay ; the one has been compared to a cart-
horse and the other to a Batak pony. The
Malay population of Perak, Pahang and the
Negri Sambilan must be largely Sakai, that of
Selangor is Sakai or Bugis — where it is not
made up of recent immigrants. Moreover, the
Malays have accepted many of the traditions
and beliefs of the people who preceded them
in the possession of the land ; they still worship
at the hol\- places of the people of the country
and believe in the same spirits of disease. Any
one who is a Mahomedan and speaks the Malay
tongue is accepted as a Malay, whatever his
ancestry ; there is no real unity about Malay
tradition. Still, there are three systems of
government that are essentially Malayan. The
first is what one may call " river " government.
The State was a river valley ; the Sultan hved
near the mouth and levied toll on all the
produce that travelled up and down the great
highway of communication. Such a State
could be controlled with comparative ease,
since the great feudal chiefs who governed
the reaches and the tributaries of the main
stream were dependent for their imports and
exports on the goodwill of the King. Pahang,
Trengganu, Kelantan and Perak all furnished
good examples of this type of feudal govern-
ment. The second type of Malay kingdom
was the predatory State— a Malay Sultan with
a sort of military aristocracy living on the
foreign settlers in his own country or terroris-
ing smaller Malay communities into paying
blackmail or tribute. Malacca, Johore Lama,
Achin, Riau and Pasai were instances of this
type of predatory rule ; the Larut and Lukut
settlements in the nineteenth century show how
it could be applied to comparatively modern
conditions. The third type is represented by
the matriarchal communities of Menangkabau
or Negri Sambilan. Self-sufficing, independent
of trade, and rather averse to war, a Negri
Sambilan village might be established at some
distance from any navigable river, and was
not usually amenable to the control of central
authorities. It led to the evolution of a most
interesting and successful type of government
that one might almost call constitutional.
But annalists do not, as a rule, take much
interest in the humble politics of village com-
munities, nor do they care much about the civil
wars of river States. It is always the lawless
predatory government that makes most noise
in the world. The great names of Malay
history are those of men like Mansur Shah of
Malacca and Mahkota Alam of Achin. None
the less, the best political work of the Malay
race was done in the little villages that have
no history — the matriarchal communities in
the highlands of Sumatra and in the valleys
of the Ne.ari Sambilan.

CHRISTMAS ISLAND, THE COCOS-KEELING ISLANDS,

AND LABUAN

SSOCIATED in an ad-
ministrative sense with
tlie Straits Settlements,
tiiougli geograpliically
somewhat remote {rom
the chief centres of
authority in British
iMalaya, are a number
of islands in the Indian
Ocean, which, though of small area, present
many points of interest. These outposts of
the Straits Settlements are Christmas Island,
an isolated islet off the coast of Java, and a
group of coral atolls known as the Cocos-Keel-
ing Islands, a considerable distance to the
south, about midway between Java and Aus-
tralia. Held under leases from the Govern-
ment, these islands are centres of considerable
commercial activity, and contribute in a modest
way to the prosperity of the Straits Settlements
as a whole.

Christmas Island came conspicuously before
the public eye in the United Kingdom a few
years ago as the result of a scientific expedition
sent out, in igoo, to investigate the flora and
fauna and geological characteristics of the
place. IVTr. Charles \V. Andrews, B.A., B.Sc,
F.G.S., of the British Museum, the chief mem-
ber of the expedition, on his return prepared
an elaborate monograph embodying the results
of the investigations of the party, and this was
officially published. The work, besides giving
a mass of valuable scientific facts, supplies
much information relating to the history of the
island. From it may be extracted some details
which are of general interest. The island lies
in the eastern part of the Indian Ocean in
S. latitude io° 25', E. long. 105° 42'. Java, the
nearest land, is about igo miles to the north,
while some 900 miles to the south-east is the
coast of North-west Australia. A little to the
south of west, at a distance of 550 miles, are
the two atolls of Cocos and North Keeling,
and to the north of these Glendinning Shoal.
The submarine slopes of the island are very
steep, and soundings of upwards of 1,000
fathoms occur within two or three miles of the
coast. To the north is Maclear Deep, in which
3,200 fathoms were found, and to the south and
south-west is the more extensive Wharton

Deep, with upwards of 3,000 fathoms. The
island, in fact, forms the summit of a sub-
marine peak, the base of which rises from the
low saddle which separates these two abysses,
and on the western end of which the Cocos-
Keeling Islands are situated. The first men-
tion of Christmas Island occurs in a map by
Pieter Goos, published in Holland in 1666, in
which it is called Moni. In subsequent maps
this name and that of Christmas Island are
applied to it indifferently, but it is not known
by whom the island was discovered and named.
Dampier landed at the island in 1688, and a
description of it is to be found in his
"Voyages." Next the island was visited in
1718 by Captain Daniel Beckman, who in a
book he wrote on the subject gives a sketch of

THE ISLAND OF CHRISTMAS.
(From Captain Beckman's "Voyage to Borneo,")

the island "in which the heights are ridicu-
lously exaggerated." In 1771 the Figot, East
Indiaman, attempted to find an anchorage but
failed. The crews of this and other passing
vessels reported the occurrence of wild pigs,
coconut palms, and lime-trees, none of which
really existed. The first attempt at an explora-
tion was made by the frigate Amethyst m 1857.
From this vessel a boat's crew was landed
with the object of attempting to reach the
summit, but the inland cliffs proved an insu-
perable obstacle, and the ascent was aban-
doned. In 1886 the surveying vessel Flying
Fish (Captain Maclear) was ordered to make
an examination of the island. A number of
men were landed, and collections of the plants
and animals were obtained, but since the island
seemed of little value no serious attempt at

exploration was made. In the following year
H.M.S. Eoi-ria (Captain Pelham Aldrich) called
at the island and remained about ten days.
Captain Aldrich and his men cut a way to the
top of the island, and sent home a number of
rock specimens obtained on the wa\', and Mr.
J. J. Custer, who accompanied the expedition
as naturalist, made e.xtensive collections both
of the fauna and flora, but had not time to
penetrate to the middle of the island. The
island was formally annexed by H.M.S. Iin-
pcriciisc in June, 1888, and placed under the
Straits Settlements Government. In 1890 H.M.S.
Kedfolc called at the island for a few hours,
and Mr. H. N. Ridley, of the Singapore Botani-
cal Gardens, who was on board, collected a
number of plants not previously recorded. It
seemed desirable that a more complete exami-
nation of the spot should be undertaken, and
in 1896 Sir John Murray generously offered to
pay the expenses of an expedition. Mr. C. W.
Andrews, author of the monograph already
referred to, obtained leave from the trustees of
the British Museum to join the expedition. Mr.
Andrews left England in the beginning of May,
1897, and arrived off the island on July 29th.
His sojourn extended over ten months, and
during that period he and his companions
accumulated a most valuable series of natural
history and geological specimens, which now
form a part of the national collections at South
Kensington.

Mr. Andrews describes the climate of the
island as both pleasant and healthy. Durin"
the greater part of the year, he says, the
weather is much like that of a hot drv English
summer, tempered nearly always by a steady
sea breeze from the ESE., which is generally
fairly cool and keeps the temperature very
even day and night. Except for showers at
night, almost the whole rainfall occurs from
December to May inclusive. During these
months there are sometimes heavy downpours
lasting several days, but as a rule the mornings
are fine. In the dry season (May to December)
the vegetation is kept fresh by very heavy dews
and occasional showers at night.

The soil is a rich brown loam, often strewn
with nodules of phosphates, and here and
there with fragments of volcanic rock. One of

116

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

the most notable features about the island is the
depth to which in man}' places the soil extends.
A well was sunk by Mr. Ross for 40 feet without
reaching the bed-rock. Mr. Andrews surmises
that this great depth of soil is accounted for by
the decomposition of volcanic rock.

At the time of the visit by H.M.S. Egciia in
1887 the island was totally uninhabited. In
November, 1888, following upon the annexa-
tion of the island, a settlement was established
at Flying Fish Cove by Mr. G. Clunies Ross, of
Cocos-Keeling Islands, and since that date this
gentleman's brother, Mr. Andrew Clunies Ross,
with his family and a few Cocos Island Malays,
has resided there almost continuously. By
them houses were built, wells were dug and
small clearings for planting coffee, coconut
palms,' banams and other plants were made in
the neighbourhood of Flying Fish Cove. In
February, 1891, Sir John Murray and Mr. G.
Clunies Ross were granted a lease of the island
by the British Government, and in 1895-96 Mr.
Sidney Clunies Ross made explorations in the
higher part of the island, resulting in the dis-
covery of large deposits of phosphate of lime.
Finally, in 1897, the leaseholders sold their
lease to a small company^ in the possession of
which the island still remains.

Writing on the flora and fauna of the island,
Mr. Andrews says that they are on the whole,
as might be expected, most nearly related to
those of the Indo-Malayan islands, but of this
there are some exceptions in the case of certain
groups. " Of the 319 species of animals re-
corded 145, or about 45 per cent., are described
as endemic. This remarkably high percentage
of peculiar forms is, however, no doubt largely
due to the fact that in some groups, particulai ly
the insects, the species inhabiting Java and
the neighbouring islands are still imperfectly
known, and many now described for the first
time from Christmas Island will probably be
found to exist in other localities."

The main group of the Cocos-Keeling Islands
is situated between 12° 14' and 12° 13' S. and
96° 49' 57" E. A smaller island belonging to
the group is in n° 50' N. and 91° 50' E. The
islands were discovered in 1609 by Captain
Keeling on his voyage from Batavia to the
Cape, and until quite recent times had an inde-
pendent existence as an outlying possession of
the Crown. In 1878, following upon their
occupation for commercial purposes, they were
attached to the Government of Ceylon. Four
years later the supervision of the group was
handed over to the Straits Settlements Govern-

ment, who were rightly regarded as being
better placed to discharge the not too exacting
duties required. At different times the islands
were visited by scientific travellers making a
tour of investigation. The most distinguished
of these visitors was Charles Darwin, who
during the famous voyage of the Beagle put in
at the islands in 1836 and remained there some
little time. It was from observations made
during his sojourn in the group that he formed
his famous theory of the formation of coral
reefs — a theory which it may be remarked
is discredited by subsequent investigations and
experience on the same spot.

The islands are held under a lease from the
Ci'own of one thousand years by Mr. George
Clunies Ross, and this gentleman, with the
members of his family, carry on a lucrative
trade mainly in the produce of the coconut
tree, which flourishes in the islands. Only
three of the islands — Settlement, West, and
Direction islands — are inhabited. The total
population of the group in 1903 was 669,
of whom 567 are Cocos born, the remainder
representing Bantamese coolies and other im-
ported labour. The entire population is en-
gaged under Mr. Ross's direction in the
cultivation of the coconut and the preparation
of copra for export. In the Government report
on the islands for 1901 the number of coconuts
gathered on the islands was given at seven
millions. But in the early part of 1902 a severe
cyclone swept across the group, uprooting no
fewer than 300,000 trees. This was a severe
blow to the trade of the islands, and it will be
years probably before the mischief is entirely
repaired.

Long completely isolated, the islands have
been quite recently brought into intimate
touch with the rest of the world by the estab-
lishment of a station of the Eastern Telegraph
Company on Direction Island. This link with
civilisation was forged as the result of the
sittings of the Cables Communication Com-
mittee, which, in its report issued in 1902,
recommended the construction of a cable
from Rodriguez to Perth in Western Australia
via the Cocos Group. The station is equipped
with the latest appliances in telegraphy, and
a speed of 120 letters a minute can be
maintained on either cable without risk of
error from indistinct signals. It is hoped that
some day a cable from the islands will be con-
structed to Ceylon and an "all-British route"
thus provided. Meanwhile, there is reason to
believe (says Mr. A. S. Baxendale, of the Feder-

ated Malay States service, in his official report
on the islands for 1903) that the islands will
soon become an important signalling station
for vessels steaming between Colombo and
Fremantle. "The islands lie directly in the
track of these vessels, and sometimes — as for
instance occurred in April in the case of the
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Com-
pany's steamship Himalaya — the name of the
passing mail steamers can be read from the
shore. It is probable that if the steamship
companies concerned desired that their vessels
should be afforded facilities for communicating
by means of wireless telegraphy with the Cable
Company's office, the company would be will-
ing to establish on Direction Island a station on
the Lodge-Muirhead system."

Besides the islands referred to above, the
Straits Settlements Government has since 1906
been associated with the administration of
Labuan, an island lying about six miles from
the north-west coast of Borneo in the Malay
Archipelago. The island, from 1890 until the
period of its transfer to the Straits Settlements,
was under the government of the British North
Borneo Company. Though not large — the total
area is only 30J square miles — the territory
is one of some commercial promise. It has
rich coal deposits, and there is considerable
scope for planting enterprise. The trade at
present, apart from coal, is largely in sago,
gutta percha, indiarubber, wax, &c., imported
from Borneo and other islands and exported
to Singapore. The population in 1901 was
estimated at 8,411. It consisted chiefly of
Malays from Borneo, but there was a consider-
able Chinese colony, and there were also thirty
European residents. The- capital of the island
is a settlement of 1,500 inhabitants to which the
name Victoria has been given. The trade of
the island amounted in 1905 to ;^'I30,I35 in
exports and ;£io8,766 in imports, as compared
with £153,770 exports and £' 157,068 imports in
the previous year. The tonnage entered and
cleared in 1905 was 321,400, against 311,744 in
1904. The great bulk of the trade being with
Singapore, the trade with the United Kingdom
direct is infinitesimal. The revenue of the place
is derived from retail licences and customs
duties on spirits, wine, tobacco, &c. The tiny
colony is in the happy position of having no
public debt. It also possesses the advantage of
direct communication with the outer world, as
the cable from Hongkong to Singapore touches
on its shores, and there is also telegraphic com-
munication with the mainland.

^1^-

•<:iS-

.sc^er

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TS^i=.

'^<^

THE PRESENT DAY

O R L D - W I D E as the
colonising influence of
the United Kingdom
lias been, it is doubtful
whether its beneficent
results have ever been
more stril^ingly manifest
than in British Malaya.
The Straits Settlements
can look back over a century of phenomenal
prosperity under British rule, and the prospect
for the future is as bright as the record of the
past. Pinang and Singapore have been the
keys which have unlocked the portals of the
Golden Peninsula, so that its wealth in well-
laden argosies has been distributed to the four
corners of the earth. And by a natural process
the spirit of enterprise and progress has com-
municated itself to the Hinterland, which is
being rapidly opened up and bids fair to
become a veritable commercial El Dorado.
From this territory the world derives no less
than two-thirds of its total supply of tin, while
vast areas of land are being placed under
cultivation for rubber, which promises to
become a great and increasing source of
revenue year by year.

Until the early part of 1907 the Straits Settle-
ments were in the happy position of having a
balance of 3,200,000 dollars to their credit. In
the opening months of the year, however, they
raised a loan of £7,861,457 for the purpose of
acquiring the Tanjong Pagar Docks and
improving the Singapore harbour. The sum
paid for the docks amounted to about three
millions and a half sterling, and in respect of
this the undertaking will be called upon to pay
4 per cent, per annum. For the expenditure
upon the harbour the Government will be in
some measure reimbursed by the sale of
reclaimed land, which is expected to produce
a large sum. The revenue of the colony has
increased from 7,041,686 dollars in igoi to
9,631,944 dollars in 1906, while the expenditure
within that period has grown from 7,315,000
dollars to 8,747,820 dollars. More than one-
half the total revenue is derived from the opium
traffic.

The financial position of the Federated
Malay States is exceptionally sound. Perak,
Selangor and Negri Sambilan show excess
assets amounting to 36,576,569 dollars, and the
excess liabilities of Pahang, amounting to

5,788,303 dollars, represent only loans advanced
free of interest by the other three States for the
development of the country. The revenue of
the Federated Malay States has increased from
5.013,000 dollars in 1889 to 27,223,476 dollars in
1906. To the latter sum the export duty on
lin contributed no less than 10,036,607 dollars.
The expenditure has risen from 4,091,078
dollars in 1889 to 18,899,425 dollars in 1906.

Except for an excise duty on opium and
alcoholic liquors, all the ports of the colony
are free, and the only charge on shipping is a
light due of a penny a ton in and out. It is
this freedom which in a large measure explains
the pre-eminence of the colony over its older
Dutch rivals, where trade is hampered by
heavy duties on imports. The exports of
merchandise from the colony, excluding inter-
port trade, were valued in 1906 at 281,273 and
the imports at 3 17,851 million dollars. Together
these exceeded by 14,392 million dollars the
return for 1902, when the figures were 273,622
and 3ir, no million dollars respectively. The
gross aggregate trade, including the movement
of treasure, showed, however, a falling off of
about 2,645 million dollars when compared
with the figure for 1902. In order to appreciate
correctly the comparisons instituted, it is
necessary to bear in mind that the value of
the dollar in 1902 was only is. 8Jd., whereas in
1906 it was 2s. 4d.

It is gratifying to observe the increasing
growth of the import trade with the United
Kingdom. The commodities purchased from
the mother country exceeded in value those
from the Continents of Europe and America
by III million dollars during the ten years
1887-96 and by 129'5 million dollars in the
following decade. The exports to the United
Kingdom are worth about double as much as
those to America, which comes next amongst
Western nations as a purchaser of the colony's
products and ranks second only to Germany as
a shipper. The greatest portion of the colony's
trade is with the Malay Peninsula, the United
Kingdom, the Netherlands Indies, British India
and Burma, Siam, Hongkong, China, and the
United States of America in the order given.

In the Federated Malay States the only
import duties are on spirits and opium, except
in Pahang, where tobacco is also taxed. Duties
are collected on all the commodities sent out
of the country. The duty on tin varies accord-
U7

ing to the market price of the metal, while
cultivated rubber, tapioca, gambler, and pepper
pay an ad valorem export duty of 2j per cent.
The value of the exports (excluding bullion)
from the Federated Malay States in igo6 was
79,178,891 dollars as compared with 29,402,343
dollars, ten years previously. To this total tin ore
contributed no less than 7 1, 104, [91 dollars, culti-
vated rubber 1,855,486 dollars, sugar 1,044,625
dollars, and tapioca, coffee, copra, gambler, padi,
pepper, gutta percha, and dried fish 5,000,000
dollars. The equivalent of 331,234 dollars was
exported in gold from the mines of Pahang. The
imports amounted to 44,547, 133 dollars as against
20,074,531 dollars in 1897, and consisted chiefly
of opium, provisions, cotton textiles, hardware,
and iron-ware. The bulk of these exports and
imports are shipped through Singapore and
Pinang.

Shipping is as the breath of life to the Straits
Settlements. Singapore is the seventh port of
the world, and is a port of call for vessels
trading between Europe or India and the
Far East, the north of Australia, and the
Netherlands Indies. Pinang is the emporium
for all the trade for the northern parts of
Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. The total
tonnage of the shipping cleared at Singapore,
Pinang, and Malacca in 1906 was 11,191,776 — an
increase of 466,490 tons over the return for the
previous year. The aggregate tonnage of the
shipping cleared at Singapore, which is a port
of call for most of the shipping of the colony,
was 6,661,549, or 2,667,944 more than in 1896.
During the period under review the tonnage of
British shipping increased from 2,630,472 to
3,602,126 tons, and of German from 484,447 to
974,241 tons. Amongst the smaller competitors
Japan has made the most headway, advancing
from the position of eighth on the list, with a
tonnage of only 54,172 tons, to that of fifth with
a tonnage of 238,454 tons.

At the present time British shipping in the
colony is unfairly handicapped by the immunity
which foreign competitors enjoy from regula-
tions which vessels flying the red ensign are
obliged to observe. Under the existing law
foreign shipping can demand a clearance
though overloaded to the deck-line, and it runs
no risk of detention on the ground that hull,
equipment, or machinery is defective. These
inequalities will be removed by a measure,
framed on the model of the Merchant Shipping

118

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

Acts of 1894 and 1906, which is now engaging
the attention of the Attorney-General of the
Straits Settlements. This measure will provide,
also, for the consolidation of the merchant
shipping laws of the colony, which are now
in a state bordering upon chaos, and will
probably contain a clause prohibiting masters
and mates of foreign ships from obtaining local
pilotage certificates.

All the important shipping lines calling at
Singapore and Pinang have combined for
some years past to charge uniform rates for
the conveyance of freight and passengers to
and from the colony. Their practice is to grant
n rebate equal to 10 per cent, per annum to
all shippers who use their lines exclusively,
5 per cent, being paid at the end of the first six
months and another five in respect of that
period six months later. In this way the steam-
ship companies always hold a considerable sum
in hand, and prevent the local shipper from
seeking relief elsewhere. The possibility of
competition being thus precluded, the combine
is in a position to name its own terms, and the
natural consequence has been a considerable
increase in freight rates. In proof of this it
may be mentioned that the charge for carrying
tin has been raised from 6s. 5d. per picul
(133J lbs.) in 1892 to 28s. 4d. in 1906. But
this does not constitute the whole of the
indictment alleged against the combine. A
system of preference is adopted whereby some
local firms benefit at the cost of others. For,
in addition to the rebates already referred to,
a further 5 per cent, on the total freight
carried by the combine is distributed amongst
a limited number of privileged firms or persons.
Again, as all transhipment cargo is excluded
from the tariff, the combine is free to accept at
any rate foreign goods shipped via Singapore
on through bills of lading. The British manu-
facturer is handicapped by the fact that certain
goods, such as tin and gums, can be delivered
in America at a cheaper rate than they can be
placed in any port of the United Kingdom
except London. This is notably the case with
tin, which .costs 5s. a ton more to Swansea
than to New York. These facts are generally
admitted, but it is urged in mitigation of
them that the combine has provided the colony
with better, faster, and more regular shipping
opportunities than existed in the days of
cheaper, but more speculative, freights, and
that this has tended to create easier financial
facilities. On the other hand it is contended
that these advantages are the outcome of a
natural process of evolution. Since the forma-
tion of the combine the shipments from ihe
colony, which were incre.ising, have fallen, and
the matter is engaging the attention of a Royal
Commission.

As has already been stated, the Government
of the Straits Settlements have recently acquired
the Tanjong Pagar Docks, and are carrying out
a number of works for the improvement of
Singapore harbour. A progressive policy is
also being adopted in regard to the port of
Pinang, where, however, some little feeling of
dissatisfaction prevails in consequence of what
is thought to be the preferential treatment of
Singapore. On the Malay Peninsula the
harbours are chiefly interesting by reason of the
possibilities which they offer for future develop-

ment. It seems to be generally agreed that
Port S wettenham is destined to outstrip its rivals,
the intention of the Government being appa-
rently to concentrate there the shipping of the
central and southern portion of the Federated
Malay States, by developing to the utmost the
natural advantages of the port. The east coast,
the navigation of which is attended with much
danger to small shipping during certain seasons
of the year, is singularly destitute of accommo-
dation for shipping, but at the mouth of the river
Kuantan, in Pahang, there is a deep-water front
extending for some considerable distance.
Steps are being taken to remove the sand-bar
at the mouth of the river, and these may be
followed by the construction of a groyne to
prevent further silting.

Opium is a very fruitful source of revenue to
the Straits Settlements, contributing no less a
sum than five or six million dollars, or rather
more than one-half of the total revenue of the
colony. In the Federated Malay States, also,
the Government derives about two and a half
million dollars annually from the drug. The
quantity imported into the Federated Malay
States, however, is three times as great as in
the Straits Settlements. The difference in the
sum yielded is attributable to several causes.
In the colony the exclusive right to import,
manufacture, and sell opium is farmed out to
the highest bidder, but in the Federated Malay
States, except in the coast districts — a com-
paratively small area — anyone may import
opium on payment of the import duty, which
nou' stands at 560 dollars a chest. Again, the
miners in the Federated Malay States are paid
to a considerable extent in kind, including
opium, and the opium smokers are more ex-
travagant than in the Straits Settlements, where
the drug is a much more expensive luxury. It
must be remembered also that the figures of
opium consumption in the Straits Settlements
are those of the drug imported by the farmers ;
but it is a well known fact that thousands of
dollars' worth of opium — much of it from the
Federated Malay States — are smuggled into the
colony, and this cannot well be stopped, as
there is no Customs department in the Straits
Settlements. In the Federated Malay States
there is a Customs department, and there is less
inducement to smuggle owing to the low price
at which the drug is retailed there.

The Chinese are inveterate gamblers, and
recognising this fact, the Federated Malay
States Government have legalised gambling in
properly licensed premises. The monopoly of
conducting these gambling houses is farmed
out, after being submitted to tender. A sub-
stantial revenue accrues to the Government
from this source. In the Straits Settlements,
however, gambling is prohibited, and the law
is enforced by severe penalties.

The tin raining industry in the Federated
Malay States provides employment for 212,660
labourers, the greater proportion of whom work
upon the "tribute" system, under which their
earnings are to some extent dependent upon the
success or failure of the mine. The total area
of land alienated for mining purposes at the
close of igo6 was 263,800 acres, more than one-
half of which area is in the State of Perak.
Upon only a small portion of this acreage, how-
ever, are mining operations actually in progress.

The primitive methods adopted by the Chinese
for the winning of tin ore are now being
superseded largely by more modern systems,
which have been rendered necessary by the ex-
haustion of the more easily won tin-bearing
deposits. It seems almost certain that the
future of the tin mining industry in the Fede-
rated Malay States will depend upon the
economical development, on a large scale, of
low-grade propositions. The methods of work-
ing in vogue fall into three classes — the open-
cast system, the underground workings, and the
alluvial washings known as "tampans." In
not a few instances also the pay-dirt is washed
down from the sides of the hills by hydraulic
pressure, the water being sometimes brought
from great distances in order to secure a suffi-
cient head. After the "karang" has been
washed down it is treated in the ordinary way
by means of wash-boxes or riffles.

Next to the tin industry, and promising soon
to outrival it in importance as a commercial
and revenue producing factor, is the great
rubber-planting industry. Though quite in its
infancy it is already taking a prominent posi-
tion in the finances of the federated territory,
as will be seen from the figures given else-
where. A simple statement of fact will bring
home to readers the truly remarkable develop-
ment which the States are undergoing as a
result of the rise of rubber. At the end of 1905
there were in the States 40,000 acres under
rubber ; twelve months later the area under
cultivation was 100,000 acres. Xor is the end
yet by a long way. Immense areas still await
the attention of the pioneering planter, and
without doubt they will receive it. Thus a
splendid future awaits planting enterprise in
the Federated States unless some great calamity
occurs, or, what at the moment seems highly
improbable, some efficient substitute for rubber
is discovered.

Owing to the difficulty which has been
experienced by certain estates in the Federated
Malay States in obtaining an adequate supply
of labour, the Government have decided to
levy a poll-tax, not exceeding five dollars per
coolie, on all employers of this class of labour,
for the purpose of forming a fund for the estab-
lishment of a labour recruiting agency. From
this source mine managers and estate agents
will be able to obtain all the labour they require
for the development of their properties, without
incurring the expenditure of bringing over from
India Tamils who frequently abscond in order
to take up temporary employment of a more
remunerative nature before they have repaid
the sums advanced to them for the cost of
transit, &c.

The Government of the Federated Malay
States have not failed to keep pace with private
enterprise. The country is intersected with
excellent roads, which are being rapidly ex-
tended, and a well-equipped railway runs from
Prye, the northern extremity of Perak, opposite
Pinang, to the borders of Johore, with branch
lines to the various ports on the seaboard. This
railway was constructed entirely out of the
revenue of the States, and has already paid
dividends equal to 40 per cent, of the capital
expenditure. Several extensions of the system
are under consideration, and it is almost certain
that before long a line will be carried into

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA

119

Pahang, the least-developed of the four Slates
comprised in the Federation. At the time of
writing, a line of 120 miles in length is being
constructed through the independent State of
Johore with money advanced by the Federated
Malay States. When this project is completed,
some time in 1909, it will be possible to travel
by rail from Singapore to Prye, and it is con-
sidered probable that some day in the future
connection may be established with Calcutta by
means of a trunk line through the intervening
territory.

Scarcely any steps were taken by the Govern-
ment to provide education in the colony until
1872, in which j'ear the Education Department
was formed. In 1906 the Education Depart-
ments of the colony and the Federated States
were amalgamated under one head, and Mr.
J. B. Elcum, B.A. Oxon., was appointed
Director of Public Instruction. It is hoped
shortly to assimilate entirely the educational
systems in the two territories. The codes now
in force, though very similar, contain certain
important differences, and the methods of
administration show even greater differences.
In igo6 there were in the Straits Settlements
35 English-teaching schools and 174 vernacu-
lar schools, while in the Federated Malay
States the numbers were 22 and 263 re-
spectively. All the vernacular schools, except
a few in which Tamil and Chinese are
taught, are purely Government schools for
the teaching of Malay. The ISnglish schools
and the Chinese and Tamil vernacular
schools receive a grant-in-aid from the Govern-
ment based on attendance, merit, organisa-
tion, and discipline. Apart from expenditure
upon school buildings, the net cost of education
during 1906 was in the Straits Settlements
328,635 dollars, or 15.42 dollars per pupil,
and in the Federated Malay States 263,876
dollars, or 15.45 dollars per pupil.

The total average number of children in
the Government schools of all kinds has
materially increased of late years. In igo6 it
was approximately 38,380, but exact figures
are not available for Pahang, where educa-
tion is still very backward. The average
attendance of pupils was 83-6 per cent.
These figures appear small in comparison
with the population, but it must be remem-
bered that only among the Eurasians and
Malays, who alone are settled under normal
conditions, is the proportion of children to
adults as large as in most countries. The
cause of education is severely handicapped,
too, by the fact that the Malays and Chinese
are almost indifferent as to the instruction of
their female children ; the Chinese, however,
are very much alive to the advantage of an
English education for their sons. Thus it

happens that, although nearly half the
children of school-going age are girls, only
4,260 girls attended school in 1906, as com-
pared with 34,120 boys.

At all the large and important English
schools there are classes for the continued
instruction of boys who have passed Standard
VII., and generally between loo and 200
candidates are presented each year at the
Cambridge Senior and Junior Examinations
held at Singapore and Pinang. These
examinations were dropped in the Federated
Malay States for a few years, but Kuala
Lvunpor was again made a centre in 1907.
The great inducement to take up secondary
work in the Straits Settlements has been the
Queen's Scholarship, of the value of ;f25o
per year, tenable for not more than five
years at an English University. Hitherto
two of these scholarships have been awarded
each year, but it is now proposed to dis-
continue one and devote the money to the
improvement of local education. An occa-
sional scholarship on the same lines has also
been given in the Federated Malay States.
Special grants and prizes are offered for boys
who are trained in a commercial class in
shorthand, typewriting, bookkeeping, and
composition, but, so far, very little advantage
has been taken of these offers in the
Federated Malay States. Attempts to provide
technical instruction have not proved popular,
but a large and satisfactory science class has
been estabhshed at Raffles Institute, Singapore.

The Straits Settlements are administered by
a Governor, an Executive Council, composed
entirely of officials, and a Legislative Council
containing a minority of representatives of the
general community appointed by the Governor.
The germ of the principle of popular election
is seen in the privilege accorded to the Singa-
pore and Pinang Chambers of Commerce of
each nominating a member for the Legislative
Council, The Governor of the Straits Settle-
ments is also High Commissioner of the
Federated Malay States. Subordinate to him
are the Resident-General and four British
Residents — one for each of the States com-
prised in the Federation. The system of
government is tantamount to a bureaucracy,
and the territory is for all practical purposes
as British as the neighbouring colony itself.
The Sultans rule but do not govern, and
although it is provided that no measure can
become law until it has been passed by the
Council of each State to which it applies,
these bodies are, in reality, merely advisory.

As regards local government there are in
Singapore, Pinang, and Malacca Municipal
Commissions, with powers very similar to
those .possessed by Urban District Councils in

Great Britain. The members are partly nomi-
nated by the Governor and partly elected by
popular vote. This vote is limited to adult
male British subjects occupying or possessing
property of a certain rateable value. In the
Federated Malay States the chief centres of
population are administered by Sanitary
Boards, consisting of civil servants and an
unofficial minority chosen by the Government.
The trend of things at the present day is,
undoubtedly, in the direction of extending the
principle of federation. Each year similar
departments, which formerly existed inde-
pendently of one another in each of the States,
are being amalgamated, in order to establish
uniformity and promote efficiency. At the
present time the Public Works, Railways,
Post Office, Land and Survey, Mines, Forests,
Agriculture, Fisheries, Finance, Police, Prisons,
Trade and Customs, Immigration, Education,
Museum, and Printing Departments are each
under one head. The Judiciary, the military
forces, and the Chinese Secretariat are also
Federal institutions. By an elaborate system
of bookkeeping an attempt is made to keep
the finances of the different States distinct
from one another, but their interests are so
very closely interwoven that it is only
possible to appear to do this on paper. It is
probably only a matter of time before even
this attempt will be abandoned, and, con-
temporaneously with this, one may expect to
see the establishment of a system of Federal
Government, something on the lines of the
Executive and Legislative Councils in the
Straits Settlements. The mining and planting
communities, to whom, of course, the pros-
perity of the Federated Malay States is mainly
due, appear to think that they are entitled
to some more effective voice in the manage-
ment of the country than they possess under
the existing system. But the principle of
unification seems not unlikely to spread
even beyond these limits. Not only is the
Governor of the Straits Settlements High
Commissioner for the Federated Malay States,
but quite recently a Director of Education,
an Inspector-General of Hospitals, a Con-
servator of Forests, and a Secretary for
Chinese Affairs have been appointed for the
Straits Settlements and Federated Malay
States conjointly. An arrangement, too, has
been made whereby the Puisne Judges of the
Straits Settlements and the Judicial Commis-
sioners of the Federated Malay States will
be interchangeable. Gradually the colony and
the Federated Malay States, with their mutual
commercial interests and interdependent
business relationships, are being drawn more
and more closely together for administrative
purposes to their common advantage.

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GOVERNORS OF THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS

IPPENDED is a list of
tiie Governors and Ad-
ministrators of the
Straits Settlements since
these were taken over
by the Colonial Office
in 1867 :
Colonel Harry St. George Ord, R.E., C.B.,

April I, 1867, to March 3, 1871.
Lieut. -Colonel Archibald Edward Har-
BORD Anson, R.A., Administrator,
March 4, 1871, to March 22, 1872.

Major-General Sir Harry St. George Ord,
C.B. (G.C.M.G.), March 23, 1872, to
November 2, 1873.

Lieut. -Colonel Archibald Edward Harbord
Axson, R.A., Administrator, November 3,
1873, to November 4, 1873.

Colonel Sir Axdrew Clarke, K.E., K.C.M.G.,
C.B., November 4, 1873, to May 10,
1875-

Colonel Sir Willi.am Francis Drummond
Jervois, R.E., K.C.M.G., C.B. (Major-
General, G.C.M.G.), May 10, 1875, to
April 3, 1877.

Colonel Archibald Edward Harbord Anson,
R.A., C.M.G., Administrator, April 3,
1877, to October 29, 1877.

Sir William Cleaver Francis Robinson,
K.C.M.G., October 2g, 1877, to February
10, 1879.

Major-General Sir Archibald Edward Axsox,
R..A., K.C.M.G., Administrator, February
10, 1879, to ^lay 6, 1880.

Frederick Aloysius Weld, C.M.G., Adminis-
trator, May 6, 1880, to March 28, 1884.

Cecil Clemexti Smith, C.M.G., Administrator,
March 29, 1884, to November 12, 1885.

Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld, K.C.M.G.,
November 13, 1885, to May 13, 1887.

John Frederick Dickson, C.M.G., Adminis-
trator, May 14, 1887, to June 19, 1887.

Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld, G.C.M.G.,
June 20, 1887, to October 17, 1887.

Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, K.C.M.G., October
20, 1887, to Acril 8, 1890.

Sir J. F DERick „iCKSON, K.C.M.G., Aamin-
istrator, April 8, 1890, to November 11,
1S90. ^^

Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, WC.M.G.
(G.C.M.G.), November 12, 1890, to
August 30, 1893.

William Edward Maxwell, C.M.G.
(K.C.M.G.), Administrator, August 30,
1893, to January 31, 1894.

Lieut. -Colonel Sir Charles Bullex Hugh
Mitchell, K.C.M.G. (G.C.M.G.), Feb-
ruary I, 1894, to March 27, 1898.

Sir James Alexander Swettenham, K.C.M.G.,
Administrator, March 28, 1898, to Decem-
ber 29, i8g8.

Lieut. -Colonel Sir Charles Bullen Hugh
Mitchell, G.C.M.G., December 30, i8g8,
to December 7, 1899.

Sir James Alexander Swettenham, K.C.M.G.,
Administrator, December 8, 1899, to Feb-
ruary 18, 1901.

Sir Frank Athelstaxe Swettenham,
K.C.M.G., Administrator, February 18,
1901, to September 25, 1901.

Sir Fraxk Athelstane Swettenham,
K.C.M.G., September 26, 1901, to October
12, 1903.

William Thomas Taylor, C.M.G., Adminis-
trator, October 13, 1903, to April 15, 1904.

Sir John Anderson, K.C.M.G., April 15, 1904,
to March I, 1906.

Sir William Taylor, K.C.M.G., Administrator,
March 2, 1906.

Sir John .\ndersox, K.C.M.G., present time.

CONSTITUTION AND LAW

THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.

HE history of the con-
stitution and law of our
Straits Settlements is
like the history of the
British Empire itself in
this respect — that it is
one of gradual growth
and accretion, of a sub-
stantial superstructure
built upon small but sound foundations bor-
rowed from those massive and enduring
pedestals upon which tower the might and
consequence of Greater Britain. From being
originally an appanage of the Honourable the
East India Company, the Straits Settlements
have come to be a leading Crown colony of
the Empire. Passing, with the demise of
" John Company," under the control of our
Indian Government, the Straits Settlements
were finally transferred to the care of the
Secretary of State for the Colonies by an
Order in Council dated April i, 1867.

The seat of government is the town of
Singapore, on the island of the same name,
and the Government consists of a Governor,
with an Executive and a Legislative Council.
This latter body is composed of nine official
and seven unofficial members, of whom two
are nominated by the Singapore and Pinang
Chambers of Commerce. The nine official
members constitute the Executive or Cabinet.
In each of the settlements there are also muni-
cipal bodies, some of the members of which
are elected by the ratepayers, while others are
appointed by the Governor.

To make matters clear, it may be well to out-
line briefly the colony's general history, with
which is seen the gradual development of her
constitution and law. At the present time the
colony consists of the island and town of
Singapore, the province of Malacca, the island
and town of Pinang, the Dindings, Province
Wellesley, the island of Labuan, the Cocos
Islands, and Christmas Island — the two last
having been acquired in 1886 and 1889 respec-
tively. Pinang was the first British settlement
on tire Malayan peninsula, being ceded to the
British by the Raja of Kedah in 1785. Malacca,
which had been held successively by the Portu-
guese and the Dutch, was acquired by Great
Britain under treaty with Holland in 1824,
though it had been held previously by the
English from 1795 till 1818. The founding of
Pinang led to a transference of most of the
trade which had previously gone to Malacca.
In 1819 Singapore was acquired, and in 1826

this settlement, together with Malacca, was
incorporated with Pinang under one govern-
ment, of which Pinang remained the centre
of administration until 1830, when Singapore
became the headquarters of the Government.

With the systems of administration which
obtained in Pinang and Malacca before that
date we need trouble ourselves but little.
Malacca had been held by European nations
since 1511, and Pinang had been under the
East India Company since its acquirement in
1785 ; but it was not until the fusion of the
three settlements under one head that the con-
stitution and law of the colony became concrete
and solidified. At the time of the British
occupation of Singapore, Pinang and Malacca
were administered by a Governor appointed by
the Governor-General of India. There was
also a Lieutenant-Governor (Sir Stamford
Raffles) at Bencoolen, and it was under his
regime that Singapore was first placed, when it
became a British settlement, with Major Far-
quhar as Resident. In those days the govern-
ment of a people or community in the Malayan
archipelago was carried out very mu